N 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 

IN  MEMORY  OF 
MRS.  VIRGINIA  B.  SPORER 


\ 
\ 


SELECT    DOCUMENTS 


ENGLISH   CONSTITUTIONAL    HISTORY 


1  A 

LOS   AA'i.'KL 


Select  Documents 

of 

English  Constitutional  History 


EDITED  BY 

GEORGE  BURTON  ADAMS 

PROFESSOR    OF   HISTORY   IN   YALE   UNIVERSITY 
AND 

H.   MORSE   STEPHENS 

PROFESSOR  OF  HISTORY  IN  CORNELL  UNIVERSITY 


Nefo  ||otfc 
THE    MACMILLAN    COMPANY 

LONDON:    MACMILLAN  &  CO.,  LTD. 


All  rights  reserved 


COPYRIGHT,  1901, 
BY  THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY. 


Set  up  and  electrotyped  October,  1901.    Reprinted  July, 
1909;  July,  1904  ;  March,  1906  ;  July,  1908  ;  August,  1910 . 
December,  1911;  July,  1914;  February,  1916;  February,  1918. 


NortoonD  fcJrfsa 

J.  8.  Cubing  &  Co.  -  Berwick  *  Smltk 
Norwood  Mai..  U.S.A. 


PREFACE 

THE  pressure  felt  by  two  teachers  of  English  history  for  a  com- 
prehensive volume  of  documents  bearing  on  the  development  of 
the  English  constitution  has  led  to  the  compilation  of  this  volume. 
No  source  book  for  the  illustration  of  English  history  yet  pub- 
lished has  met  the  needs  of  the  student  of  constitutional  history. 
The  excellent  selections  made  by  the  late  Bishop  of  Oxford,  Mr. 
G.  W.  Prothero,  Mr.  S.  R.  Gardiner,  and  Messrs.  Gee  and  Hardy 
only  cover  limited  periods,  or  deal  with  one  aspect  of  the  subject 
Excellent  as  those  selections  are,  they  are  too  advanced  or  too 
partial  to  be  used  in  a  college  undergraduate  course  covering  a 
single  year.  The  University  of  Pennsylvania  Reprints  and  the 
Old  South  Leaflets  contain  too  little  material  to  illustrate  a  full 
course  of  English  constitutional  history.  The  editors  have  been 
guided  in  the  present  selection  by  their  practical  experience  in 
undergraduate  work,  and  it  is  hoped  that  it  may  meet  the  de- 
mands of  similar  courses  of  study  in  other  colleges,  and  also 
of  courses  pursued  in  some  secondary  and  in  many  law  schools. 

Every  teacher  of  history  has  his  own  ideas  of  the  relative  im- 
portance of  documents,  and  this  compilation  cannot  expect  to 
escape  criticism  either  for  its  selections  or  for  its  omissions. 
There  was  no  difficulty  hi  deciding  upon  the  insertion  of  the  most 
famous  documents,  such  as  Magna  Charta  and  the  Bill  of  Rights, 
but  the  selection  of  documents  of  lesser  importance  to  form  illus- 
trations of  the  growth  of  constitutional  customs  and  traditions 
was  of  greater  difficulty.  The  editors  have  kept  in  mind  in 
making  the  selection  that  they  were  dealing  with  constitutional 
and  legal,  and  not  with  political,  economic,  and  social  questions, 
and  under  this  ruling  many  important  documents,  like  the  Grand 

2041829 


vi  Preface 

Remonstrance,  were  abbreviated,  and  others,  like  the  Poor  Laws 
and  the  Navigation  Acts,  were  omitted  altogether. 

The  feature  of  the  earlier  pages  of  this  compilation  which  needs 
chiefly  to  be  defended  is  the  translation  of  the  documents  of  the 
medieval  period  from  Latin  and  Old  French.  It  was  only  after 
long  discussion  and  much  hesitation  that  it  was  resolved  to  print 
translations  rather  than  the  originals.  It  was  felt  by  the  editors 
that  although  it  might  be  indispensable  for  advanced  students  to 
use  their  documents  in  the  original  language,  yet  it  was  not  possi- 
ble to  expect  from  large  undergraduate  classes  sufficient  training 
to  enable  all  students  in  them  to  make  ready  use  of  the  original 
documents.  It  was  desired  also  to  provide  for  the  apparently 
growing  demand  for  such  material  in  secondary  schools.  Pro- 
fessor G.  B.  Adams,  who  is  responsible  for  the  selection  and 
editing  of  the  documents  down  to  1485,  is  responsible  likewise 
for  the  translations  of  these  documents,  but  in  the  case  of  statutes, 
the  official  translation  in  the  Statutes  of  the  Realm  has  been  fol- 
lowed with  only  slight  changes.  Professor  Adams  does  not  pre- 
sume that  all  the  difficulties  of  translation  have  been  here,  for  the 
first  time,  overcome,  and  he  will  be  grateful  to  those  who  will  call 
his  attention  to  errors  which  have  escaped  him  in  spite  of  con- 
siderable pains  to  avoid  them. 

The  problem  with  regard  to  the  later  documents  after  1485  has 
been  one  of  abridgment  rather  than  of  translation.  The  much 
greater  length  of  the  later  documents  made  it  impossible  to  print 
them  in  full,  and  Professor  Morse  Stephens  is  responsible  for  the 
abridgment  as  well  as  for  the  selection  and  editing  of  these  later 
documents.  It  is  as  objectionable  theoretically  to  abridge  as  to 
translate  an  original  document,  but  as  in  the  case  of  the  transla- 
tions the  abridgments  have  been  necessitated  by  practical  con- 
siderations. A  few  of  the  most  important  documents  have  been 
printed  in  full,  but  most  of  them  have  been  cut  down  in  length, 
either  by  the  omission  of  less  important  clauses  or  by  inserting 
asterisks  in  the  place  of  legal  repetitions. 

The  most  valuable  feature  of  the  three  well-known  volumes 
of  selections  made  for  the  Oxford  Clarendon  Press  by  Bishop 


Preface  vii 

Stubbs,  Mr.  Prothero,  and  Mr.  Gardiner  are  the  learned  introduc- 
tions to  the  documents  they  have  edited.  The  editors  of  the 
present  selection  did  not  feel  it  incumbent  upon  them  to  follow 
this  example,  for  their  selection  is  intended  to  be  used  in  class 
along  with  some  recognized  text-book.  The  same  consideration 
which  caused  them  to  reject  a  general  introduction  explains  also 
the  absence  of  special  introductions  to  the  different  documents. 
All  that  has  been  done  is  to  give  the  date,  a  reference  to  the 
original  source,  and  occasionally  to  former  reprints,  and  in  the 
case  of  documents  earlier  than  1485  to  the  pages  in  Stubbs's 
Constitutional  History  where  there  is  some  discussion  of  the 
document. 

A  few  words  should  be  given  to  the  want  of  uniformity  in 
spelling  and  capitalization.  As  a  general  rule  this  reprint  follows 
the  spelling  and  capitalization  of  the  source  from  which  the  docu- 
ment is  taken,  as  indicated  at  the  head  of  each  number.  Some 
of  the  later  documents,  such  as  264,  265,  and  266  preserve  the 
capitalization  of  the  Acts  of  Parliament  exactly  as  they  were 
printed ;  others  follow  the  system  used  in  earlier  reprints ;  while 
others  again  have  been  completely  modernized.  In  all  cases  the 
originals  have  been  collated,  but  it  was  believed  to  be  unnecessary 
to  return  in  every  case  to  the  original  spelling  and  capitalization. 

It  only  remains  for  the  editors  to  express  their  great  obligations 
to  their  predecessors.  Such  a  work  as  this  could  never  have  been 
successfully  undertaken  had  not  the  way  been  prepared  by  such 
distinguished  scholars  as  Bishop  Stubbs,  Mr.  Prothero,  and  Mr. 
Gardiner.  Full  credit  has  been  given  at  the  head  of  each  number 
when  any  document  has  been  taken  from  the  volumes  edited  by 
these  three  historians,  even  although  their  reprints  have  been 
carefully  collated  with  the  originals  and  occasional  slips  corrected. 
It  is  hoped  that  one  of  the  results  of  using  this  compilation  with 
undergraduate  classes  will  be  to  attract  attention  to  the  interest 
and  importance  of  the  study  of  documents,  so  that  more  advanced 
students 'will  turn  to  the  more  full  and  elaborate  editions  of  these 
distinguished  scholars.  Their  three  volumes,  however,  do  not 
cover  the  whole  field.  The  Select  Charters  and  Other  Illustra- 


viii  Preface 

tions  of  English  Constitutional  History,  arranged  and  edited  by 
William  Stubbs,  Bishop  of  Oxford,  only  reach  to  the  death  of 
Edward  I  in  1307 ;  the  Select  Statutes  and  Other  Constitutional 
Documents,  edited  by  G.  W.  Prothero,  concern  the  period  from 
1558  to  1625,  the  reigns  of  Elizabeth  and  James  I;  while  the 
Constitutional  Documents  of  the  Puritan  Revolution,  selected  and 
edited  by  Samuel  Rawson  Gardiner,  deal  with  the  period  from 
1625  to  1660.  For  the  gaps  which  lie  between  these  books  cpn- 
siderable  use  has  been  made  of  the  excellent  collection  of  Docu- 
ments Illustrative  of  English  Church  History,  compiled  by  Henry 
Gee  and  W.  J.  Hardy,  but  for  the  most  part  documents  not  hith- 
erto reprinted  have  been  selected.  In  the  period  covered  by 
Stubbs's  Select  Charters  a  number  of  documents  not  appearing  in 
that  collection  have  been  included,  especially  such  as  illustrate 
the  history  of  law. 

Our  thanks  are  due  to  Messrs.  Gee  and  Hardy  for  permission 
to  use  a  few  of  the  translations  in  their  Documents  Illustrative  of 
English  Church  History,  and  to  Professor  E.  P.  Cheyney  for  a 
similar  permission  to  make  use  of  translations  appearing  in  the 
University  of  Pennsylvania  Translations  and  Reprints.  In  both 
cases  specific  acknowledgment  is  made  at  the  head  of  the  transla- 
tions borrowed.  We  desire  to  express  our  thanks  also,  for  assist- 
ance rendered  in  getting  this  book  into  form  for  the  press,  to 
Professor  G.  M.  Butcher,  Wesleyan  University,  Middletown, 
Connecticut. 

GEORGE  BURTON  ADAMS. 
H.  MORSE  STEPHENS. 

OCTOBER  5,  1901. 


CONTENTS 


WILLIAM  I 

1.    .    Ordinance  separating  the  Spiritual  and  Temporal  Courts     .  I 

2.  1080.     Writ  for  an  Inquest  of  Lands  at  Ely 2 

3.  1086.    Title  of  the  Domesday  Inquest  for  Ely        ....  2 

4.  1086.    Typical  Domesday  Entries 3 

WILLIAM  II 

5.  1095.    Writ  applying  Feudal  Principles  to  the  Church  ...  3 

6.  1096.    An  Early  Iter 4 

HENRY  I 

7.  1 1  oo.    Charter  of  Liberties    ........  4 

8.    .    Writ  concerning  Lands 7 

g,    .    Writ  concerning  Lands 7 

STEPHEN 

10.  1135.    First  Charter 7 

11.  1136.    Second  Charter 8 

HENRY  II 

12.  1154.    A  Trial  in  the  Curia  Regis 9 

13.  1164.    The  Constitutions  of  Clarendon n 

14.  1 1 66.    The  Assize  of  Clarendon H 

15.  1170.    Inquest  of  the  Sheriffs 18 

1 6.  1176.     Assize  of  Northampton        .......  20 

17.  1181.    Assize  of  Arms 23 

1 8.  1184.    Assize  of  the  Forest  or  of  Woodstock 25 

19.  1188.    Ordinance  of  the  Saladin  Tithe 27 

20.    .    The  Writ  "Praecipe" 28 

RICHARD  I 

21.  1194.    Form  of  Proceeding  on  the  Judicial  Visitation  .  «9 

ix 


Contents 


JOHN 

22.  1 199.    The  Coronation  of  John •        •  34 

23.  1207.  Writ  for  the  Assessment  of  the  Thirteenth  .        .        .        .  35 

24.    .     Recognitions,  Assizes,  and  the  Jury 36 

25.  1213.  Concession  of  the  Kingdom  to  the  Pope      ....  38 

26.  1213.     Writ  of  Summons 40 

27.  1213.    Writ  of  Summons  to  a  Great  Council 40 

28.  1214.  Grant  of  Freedom  of  Election  to  Churches  ....  40 

29.  1215.  Great  Charter  of  Liberties  (Magna  Charta)         ...  42 

HENRY   III 

30.  1 220.  Writ  for  the  Collection  of  a  Carrucage         .        .        .        .52 

31.  1231.  Writ  for  the  Assembling  of  the  County  Court  before  the 

Judges  Itinerant 54 

32.  1235.     Writ  for  the  Collection  of  Scutage 55 

33.  1254.  Writ  of  Summons  for  Two  Knights  of  the  Shire  to  grant  an 

Aid 55 

34.  1258.     Provisions  of  Oxford 56 

35.  1259.  The  Provisions  of  the  Barons  or  of  Westminster          .        .  63 

36.  1265.     Confirmation  of  the  Charters 68 

EDWARD  I 

37.  1275.  The  Statutes  of  Westminster;  the  First       ....  68 

38.  1275.  Grant  of  Custom  on  Wool,  Woolfells,  and  Leather      .        .  69 

39.  1278.    Writ  for  the  Distraint  of  Knighthood 70 

40.  1279.     Statute  of  Mortmain  or  De  Religiosis 71 

41.  1283.  The  Statute  of  Merchants,  or  of  Acton  Burnell    ...  72 

42.  1285.  The  Statutes  of  Westminster;   the  Second  .         ...  75 

43.  1285.     The  Statute  of  Winchester 76 

44.  1285.    The  Statute  of  Circumspecte  Agatis 80 

45.  1290.  .  The  Statutes  of  Westminster;  the  Third:  Quia  Emptores  .  81 

46.  1295.  Writs  of  Summons  to  Parliament         .....  82 

47.  1296.    The  Bull  •"  Clericis  Laicos " 84 

48.  1297.     Confirmatio  Cartarum 86 

49.  1297.  De  Tallagio  non  Concedendo      ......  88 

50.  1307.    The  Statute  of  Carlisle 89 

EDWARD  II 

51.  1311.     The  New  Ordinances 92 

52.  1316.     Articuli  Cleri 95 

53.  1322.     Revocation  of  the  New  Ordinances 96 


Contents  xi 


54.  1324.  Statute  concerning  the  Lands  of  the  Templars    ...      98 

55»  I327-  Articles  of  Accusation  against  Edward  II    .        .        .        •      99 

EDWARD  III 

56.  1328.     Statute  of  Northampton IOO 

57'  I33°-  Statute  concerning  Justices  and  Sheriffs       ....     100 

58.  1340.  Presentment  of  Englishry  abolished  and  Grant  of  a  Subsidy     102 

59.  1340.  Unauthorized  Charges  and  Taxes  abolished         .        .        .104 

60.  1340.  England  not  to  be  Subject  to  the  King  as  King  of  France  .     105 

61.  1341.     Inquiry  into  Accounts 105 

62.  1341.  An  Act  to  secure  the  Rights  of  Peers  and  Others,  and  to 

secure  the  Responsibility  of  the  King's  Ministers     .        .     106 

63.  1341.     Revocation  of  the  Preceding  Statute 108 

64.  1343.    An  Act  regulating  the  Coinage 109 

65.  1343-  Attempts  to  tax  through  the  Merchants  resisted  .        .        .no 

66.  1344.    Grant  of  a  Subsidy  for  Two  Years no 

67.  1344.  A  Grant  of  the  Clergy  for  Three  Years        .        .        .        .112 

68.  1348.     Grant  on  Conditions 113 

69.  1349.  An  Ordinance  concerning  Laborers  and  Servants        .        .114 

70.  1351.     Statute  of  Laborers      .        . 116 

71.  1351.  Statute  of  Provisors  of  Benefices          .        .        .        .        .     117 

72.  1352.    The  Statute  of  Treasons 121 

73-  *353-     Statute  of  Praemunire 123 

74-  I353-    Ordinance  of  the  Staples 124 

75-  I353-  Protest  of  Parliament  against  Legislation  by  Ordinance       .     126 

76.  1354.  Certain  Ordinances  confirmed  by  Parliament       .        .        .127 

77.  1361.  An  Act  concerning  Justices  of  the  Peace     .        .        .        .127 

78.  1362.  Purveyance,  English  to  be  used  in  the  Courts,  etc.      .        .128 

79.  1366.     Refusal  of  Tribute  to  the  Pope 130 

80.  1372.  Lawyers  and  Sherifts  excluded  from  Parliament  .        .        .131 

81.  1372.  Grant  of  Tunnage  and  Poundage  by  Citizens  and  Burgesses 

alone 131 

82.  1376.    Impeachment  of  Richard  Lyons 132 

83.  1377.  Grant  of  a  Poll  Tax  and  Petition  for  Special  Treasurers       .     135 

RICHARD   II 

84.  1377.  Persons  appointed  to  supervise  Expenditures       .        .        .     136 

85.  1378.  Account  of  Expenditures  required  by  Parliament         .         .     137 

86.  1379.  The  King  orders  Accounts  submitted  to  Parliament     .        .138 

87-  '379-    The  Poll  Tax  of  1379 140 

88.  1380.    The  Poll  Tax  of  1380 142 


xii  Contents 


PACK 

89.  1382.    Merchants  to  use  English  Ships  only.    Charters  granted  to 

the  Peasants  annulled 144 

90.  1382.  An  Act  against  Heretical  Preaching 145 

91.  1385.  An  Act  to  reform  the  Administration  of  Justice         .        .146 

92.  1385.  An  Act  regarding  Fugitive  Villeins 148 

93.  1386.  Articles  of  Impeachment  against  Suffolk   ....  148 

94.  1386.  Threat  to  depose  Richard  II 150 

95-  I39°-  The  Second  Statute  of  Provisors 150 

96.  1390.     Statute  of  Maintenance  and  Livery 153 

97.  1392.     Conveyances  to  the  Uses  of  Religious  Houses  and  Other 

Corporations  forbidden,  etc.  .         .         .         .         .         .154 

98.  1393-    The  Second  Statute  of  Praemunire 156 

99-     I397-    New  Definition  of  Treason 159 

100.  1398.     Delegation  of  Powers  by  Parliament  of  Shrewsbury  .        .159 

101.  1398.     Grant  of  Subsidy  for  Life  to  Richard  II  by  Parliament  of 

Shrewsbury 160 

102.  1399.     Resignation  of  Richard  II 161 

103.  1399.    Deposition  of  Richard  II  and  Election  of  Henry  IV          .     162 

HENRY  IV 

104.  1399.     An  Act  for  the  Security  of  the  Subject  and  in  Repeal  of 

the  Acts  of  the  Parliament  of  Shrewsbury      .        .        .165 

l°5-  I399-  Haxey's  Case 167 

106.  1401.  The  Statute  "  De  Haeretico  Comburendo  "         .        .        .168 

107.  1401.  Sir  Arnold  Savage  asks  for  the  Privileges  of  Parliament     .     171 

108.  1401.  Members  excused  for  Matters  spoken  in  Parliament  .        .172 

109.  1401.  Responses  to  the  Petitions  of  the  Commons       .        .        .     173 

1 10.  1406.  Act  to  regulate  the  Succession 1 73 

in.  1406.  The  Manner  of  electing  Knights  of  the  Shire     .         .         .174 

112.  1407.     Commons  to  originate  Money  Bills 175 

113.  1410.    Act  restraining  Abuses  by  the  Sheriffs  in  Election  Returns     177 

HENRY  V 

114.  1413.    Grant  of  Subsidy  and  Tunnage  and  Poundage   .        .        .178 

115.  1413.     Residence  required  of  Knights  of  the  Shire  and  of  their 

Electors 179 

116.  1414.     Confiscation  of  the  Alien  Priories 180 

117.  1414.     King  agrees  not  to  alter  the  Petitions  of  the  Commons      .  181 

118.  1415.    Grant  of  a  Subsidy  and  Tunnage  and  Poundage  for  Life   .  182 

HENRY  VI 

119.  1422.    Government  during  the  Minority  of  Henry  VI   .        .        .     184 


Contents  xiii 

PACK 

120.  1428.    Definition  of  the  Powers  of  the  Duke  of  Gloucester  as 

Protector 188 

121.  1429.     Electors  of  Knights  of  the  Shire  must  be  Forty  Shilling 

Freeholders 190 

122.  1429.  Larke's  Case;   Privileges  of  Member's  Servants         .        .191 

123.  1437.  Act  against  Smuggling 193 

124.  1439.  Against  Abuse  in  Appointment  of  Justices  of  the  Peace    .  194 

125.  1445.  Qualifications  of  Knights  of  the  Shire        ....  195 

126.  1450.  Attainder  of  John  Cade 195 

127.  1460.  Privilege  of  Members  from  Arrest;  Clerk's  Case        .        .  196 

128.  1460.  Recognition  of  the  Duke  of  York  as  Heir  to  the  Throne   .  198 

EDWARD  IV 

129.  1461.    Act  declaring  Valid  Acts  of  Lancastrian  Kings .        .        .    202 

130.  1467.    Treaty  of  Commerce  with  Burgundy 204 

RICHARD  III 

131.  1484.    Confirmation  of  Richard's  Title 207 

132.  1484.    Grant  of  Subsidy 210 

133.  1484.    An  Act  to  free  Subjects  from  Benevolences        .        .        .212 

HEXRY  Vn 

134.  1485.     Recognition  of  the  Title  of  Henry  VII      .        .        .        .213 

135.  1485.    An  Act  against  bringing  in  of  Gascony  Wine  except  in 

English,  Irish,  or-Welshmen's  Ships       .        .        .        .213 

136.  1487.     Establishment  of  the  Court  of  Star  Chamber      .        .        .214 

137.  1495.    Allegiance  to  a  De  Facto  King  not  Treason      .        .        .215 

138.  1503-1504.    An  Act  against  Unlawful  Retainers  and  Liveries       .    216 
I39-     15°3-I5°4-     Reversal  of  Attainders 218 

140.  1503-1504.    Grant  of  Two  Aids 220 

HENRY  Vm 

141.  1512.    Benefit  of  Clergy  denied  to  Murderers       .        .        .        .223 

142.  1512.    Act  in  Strode's  Case 224 

143.  1514-1515.     Resumption  of  Royal  Grants    .....  225 

144.  1532.    The  Conditional  Restraint  of  Annates        ....  226 

145.  1533.    Act  in  Restraint  of  Appeals       .        .        .        .        .        .  229 

146.  1534.     Ecclesiastical  Appointments  Act        .....  232 

147.  1534.    The  First  Act  of  Succession 235 

148.  1534.    Act  of  Supremacy  of  Henry  VIII 239 

149.  1534.    The  Treasons  Act 240 

150.  1536.    Act  for  the  Dissolution  of  the  Lesser  Monasteries     .        .  243 


xiv  Contents 

PAGl 

151.  1536.  The  King  at  Twenty-four  may  repeal  Acts  of  Parliament 

passed  during  his  Minority 246 

152.  1539.     The  Lex  Regia 247 

153.  1539.  Act  for  the  Dissolution  of  the  Greater  Monasteries    .        .  251 
!54'     *539'    The  Six  Articles  Act 253 

155-  I542«  The  Attainder  of  Queen  Katherine  Howard       .        .        .  259 

156-  X543-    Ferrers'  Case     .        . 261 

157.  1544.    Act  fixing  the  Succession 264 

158.  1544.  Act  concerning  Treasons  committed  out  of  the  Realm       .  268 

EDWARD  VI 

I59«     I547-    Act  for  the  Dissolution  of  Chantries 269 

160.  1549.     First  Act  of  Uniformity 272 

161.  1550.     First  Mention  of  Lords  Lieutenant 278 

162.  1552.     Second  Act  of  Uniformity 278 

MARY   I 

l63-     I553-     First  Act  of  Repeal 281 

164.  1554.  Act  for  the  Marriage  of  Queen  Mary  to  Philip  of  Spain     .  283 

165.  1554.     Revival  of  the  Heresy  Acts 289 

166.  1554.     Second  Act  of  Repeal 290 

ELIZABETH 

l67-     ISS9-    The  Act  of  Supremacy 296 

1 68.  1559.    The  Act  of  Uniformity 302 

169.  1559.  Act  of  Recognition  of  the  Queen's  Title    .        .        .        .306 

170.  1559.    Treason  Act 307 

171-  I559-     Grant  of  Tonnage  and  Poundage 309 

172-  I5S9-  Establishment  of  the  Court  of  High  Commission        .        .  310 

173.  1566.  Ordinance  of  the  Star  Chamber  for  the  Censorship  of  the 

Press 3'5 

174.  1571.  Act  against  bringing  Decrees  of  the  Pope  into  England     .  316 

*75'     I57L    The  Oath  of  a  Privy  Councillor 319 

176.     1574.  Commission  for  the  Manumission  of  Villeins      .         .         .319 

*77-     '579'  The  Commission  of  a  Justice  of  the  Peace         .        .        .321 

178.  1581.    The  Oath  of  a  Justice  of  the  Peace 324 

179.  1586.  Resolutions  on  the  Norfolk  Election  Case          .        .         .324 

180.  1601.  The  Queen's  Message  with  Regard  to  Monopolies     .        .  325 

JAMES  I 

181.  1604.  Act  of  Recognition  of  the  King's  Title      .        .        .        .326 

182.  1604.  Commission  for  negotiating  a  Union  with  Scotland    .        .  327 


Contents  xv 

PACK 

183.  1604.    Act  in  Shirley's  Case 328 

184.  1606.     Opinions  of  the  Court  of  Exchequer  in  Bates'  Case    .        .  329 

185.  1607.    The  Case  of  Prohibitions 332 

186.  1608.    Judgment  in  the  Case  of  the  Post-nati,  or  Calvin's  Case     .  334 

187.  1610.    The  Case  of  Proclamations 334 

188.  1624.    Act  against  Monopolies 337 

CHARLES  I 

189.  1628.    The  Petition  of  Right 339 

190.  1628.    The  Remonstrance  against  Tonnage  and  Poundage  .        .  343 

191.  1628.    The  King's  Speech  proroguing  Parliament        .        .        .  345 

192.  1628-1629.     Protest  of  the  House  of  Commons    ....  346 

193.  1634.     First  Writ  of  Ship-money 347 

194.  1637.    The  Answer  of  the  Judges  in  the  Matter  of  Ship-money    .  349 

195.  1640-1641.    The  Triennial  Act 351 

196.  1641.    The  Protestation 359 

197.  1641.    Act  for  the  Attainder  of  Stratford 361 

198.  1641.    Act  against  dissolving  the  Long  Parliament  without  its 

own  Consent 362 

199.  1641.    Act  for  the  Abolition  of  the  Court  of  Star  Chamber  .        .  363 

200.  1641.     Act  for  the  Abolition  of  the  Court  of  High  Commission     .  366 

201.  1641.    Act  declaring  the  Illegality  of  Ship-money         .        .        .  369 

202.  1641.    Act  for  the  Limitation  of  Forests 371 

203.  1641.    Act  prohibiting  the  Exaction  of  Knighthood  Fines    .        .  374 

204.  1641.    The  Grand  Remonstrance,  with  the  Petition  accompany- 

ing it      376 

205.  1641.    The   King's  Answer  to  the  Petition   accompanying  the 

Grand  Remonstrance 380 

206.  1641-1642.    The  Clerical  Disabilities  Act 383 

207.  1643.    The  Solemn  League  and  Covenant 383 

208.  1643-1644.    Ordinance  appointing  the  First  Committee  of  Both 

Kingdoms 387 

209.  1645.    The  Self-denying  Ordinance 388 

210.  1648-1649.    Act  erecting  a  High  Court  of  Justice  for  the  Trial 

of  Charles  I .  389 

211.  1648-1649.     Sentence  of  the  High  Court  of  Justice  upon  the  King  391 

212.  1648-1649.    The  Death  Warrant  of  Charles  I       ....  394 

COMMONWEALTH 

213.  1648-1649.    Act  appointing  a  Council  of  State     ....  394 

214.  1648-1649.     Act  abolishing  the  Office  of  King      .         .         .         .397 

215.  1648-1649.     Act  abolishing  the  House  of  Lords  .        .        .        -399 


xvi  Contents 


216.  1649.    Act  declaring  England  to  be  a  Commonwealth  .        .        .  400 

217.  1650.    Act  declaring  what  Offences  shall  be  adjudged  Treason 

under  the  Commonwealth 400 

218.  1653.     Declaration  by  Oliver  Cromwell  and  the  Council  of  Officers 

after  putting  an  End  to  the  Long  Parliament         .        .  403 

PROTECTORATE 

219.  1653.    The  Instrument  of  Government 407 

220.  1654.    An  Ordinance  by  the  Protector  for  the  Union  of  England 

and  Scotland 416 

CHARLES  II 

221.  1660.    The  Declaration  of  Breda  .......  420 

222.  1660.    Act  abolishing  Relics  of  Feudalism  and  fixing  an  Excise    .  422 

223.  1 66 1.     Corporation  Act 425 

224.  1662.     Last  Act  of  Uniformity 427 

225.  1664.    First  Conventicle  Act         .        ...        .        .        .431 

226.  1665.     Five  Mile  Act 433 

227.  1673.    Declaration  of  Indulgence 434 

228.  1673.    Test  Act 436 

229.  1679.     Resolution  concerning  the  Royal  Pardon  in  Bar  of  Danby's 

Impeachment 439 

230.  1679.     Exclusion  Bill 439 

231.  1679.     Habeas  Corpus  Act 440 

232.  1682.     Forfeiture  of  Charter  of  London 448 

JAMES   II 

233.  1686.     Hales' Case :  The  Dispensing  Power         ....  450 

234.  1687.     Declaration  of  Indulgence 451 

WILLIAM  III  AND   MARY   II 

235.  1688-1689.     Confirmation  of  the  Convention  Parliament       .        .  454 

236.  1689.    The  Civil  List 456 

237.  1689.     First  Mutiny  Act 457 

238.  1689.    The  Toleration  Act 459 

239.  1689.    The  Bill  of  Rights 462 

240.  1690.     Act  restoring  the  Charter  of  London          ....  469 

241.  1694.    The  Triennial  Act 471 

WILLIAM    III 

242.  1696.     Treason  Trials  Act 472 

243.  1701.    The  Act  of  Settlement 475 


Contents  xvii 


ANNE 

244.  1706-1707.    Act  of  Union  with  Scotland 479 

245.  1707.    Place  Act 483 

GEORGE  I 

246.  1715.    Riot  Act 4^5 

247.  1716.    The  Septennial  Act 487 

248.  1719.    The  Peerage  Bill 488 

GEORGE  H 

249.  1731.    Use  of  English    Language  in  the    Law  Courts   made 

Obligatory 489 

GEORGE  ni 

250.  1760.    Judicial  Commissions  not  to  cease  on  the  Demise  of  the 

Crown 491 

251.  1763.    Camden's  Decision  against  General  Warrants    .        .        .  492 

252.  1764.    Mansfield's  Decision  against  General  Warrants  .        .        .  493 

253.  1771.    Somerset's  Case.     Mansfield's  Decision     ....  494 

254.  1780.    Dunning's  Resolution 494 

255-     I79°-     Dissolution  of  Parliament  does  not  impair  Impeachment  .  495 

256*    1 792.     Fox's  Libel  Act 495 

257.  1794.    Suspension  of  the  Writ  of  Habeas  Corpus                           .  49^ 

258.  1 800.    Act  of  Union  with  Ireland 497 

259.  1807.    Abolition  of  the  Negro  Slave  Trade 506 

GEORGE  IV 

260.  1821.    Disfranchisement  of  Grampound $07 

261.  1828.     Repeal  of  Corporation  and  Test  Acts         ....  508 

262.  1829.    Catholic  Emancipation  Act 510 

WILLIAM  IV 

263.  1832.     Reform  Act  of  1832 SJ4 

264.  1833.    Abolition  of  Negro  Slavery 527 

265.  1833.    Affirmation  allowed  instead  of  Oath 53° 

VICTORIA 

266.  1858.    Jewish  Relief  Act      ........  53* 

267.  1867.     Reform  Act  of  1867 S32 

268.  1869.     Disestablishment  of  the  Irish  Church         ....  538 

269.  1870.     Education  Act S38 

270.  1872.    The  Ballot  Act 54° 


xviii  Contents 

PAGI 

271.  1873.    Supreme  Court  of  Judicature  Act 543 

272.  1876.    Appellate  Jurisdiction  Act 550 

273.  1877.    Abolition  of  Names  of  King's  Bench,  Common  Pleas,  and 

Exchequer  for  Divisions  of  the  High  Court  of  Justice    .  552 

274.  1881.    Abolition  of  Certain  Judicial  Offices 553 

275.  1884.     Reform  Act  of  1884 553 

276.  1885.    Third  Redistribution  of  Parliamentary  Seats      .       .       .  554 


ABBREVIATIONS 

Bigelow  Placita :  Bigelow's  Placita  Anglo-Normannica. 

Cheyney :  Professor  Cheyney  in  University  of  Pennsylvania  Translations  and 
Reprints. 

G.  &  H. :  Gee  and  Hardy's  Documents  Illustrative  of  English  Church  Histor  . 

R.  P. :  Rolls  of  Parliament 

S.  L. :  Statutes  at  Large. 

S.  R. :  Statutes  of  the  Realm. 

Stubbs :  Stubbs'  Constitutional  History. 

Stubbs,  S.  C. :  Stubbs'  Select  Charters. 


English 
Constitutional   Documents 


i .    Ordinance  separating  the  Spiritual  and  Tem- 
poral Courts 

(Date  unknown.    Latin  tort,  Stubbs,  S.  C.  85.    Translation,  G.  and  H.  57. 
I  Stubbs,  307.) 

WILLIAM,  by  the  grace  of  God  king  of  the  English,  to  R. 
Bainard,  and  G.  de  Magneville,  and  Peter  de  Valoines, 
and  all  my  liege  men  of  Essex,  Hertfordshire  and  Middlesex 
greeting.  Know  ye  and  all  my  liege  men  resident  in  England, 
that  I  have  by  my  common  council,  and  by  the  advice  of  the 
archbishops,  bishops,  abbots  and  chief  men  of  my  realm,  deter- 
mined that  the  episcopal  laws  be  mended  as  not  having  been  kept 
properly  nor  according  to  the  decrees  of  the  sacred  canons  through- 
out the  realm  of  England,  even  to  my  own  times.  Accordingly  I 
command  and  charge  you  by  royal  authority  that  no  bishop  nor 
archdeacon  do  hereafter  hold  pleas  of  episcopal  laws  in  the  Hun- 
dred, nor  bring  a  cause  to  the  judgment  of  secular  men  which 
concerns  the  rule  of  souls.  But  whoever  shall  be  impleaded  by 
the  episcopal  laws  for  any  cause  or  crime,  let  him  come  to  the 
place  which  the  bishop  shall  choose  and  name  for  this  purpose, 
and  there  answer  for  his  cause  or  crime,  and  not  according  to  the 
Hundred  but  according  to  the  canons  and  episcopal  laws,  and  let 
him  do  right  to  God  and  his  bishop.  But  if  any  one,  being  lifted 
up  with  pride,  refuse  to  come  to  the  bishop's  court,  let  him  be 
summoned  three  several  times,  and  if  by  this  means,  even,  he  come 
not  to  obedience,  let  the  authority  of  the  king  or  sheriff  be  exerted ; 
and  he  who  refuses  to  come  to  the  bishop's  judgment  shall  make 
good  the  bishop's  law  for  every  summons.  This  too  I  absolutely 
forbid  that  any  sheriff,  reeve  or  king's  minister,  or  any  other  lay- 
man, do  in  any  wise  concern  himself  with  the  laws  which  belong 
to  the  bishop,  or  bring  another  man  to  judgment  save  in  the 


2  English  Constitutional  Documents 

bishop's  court.  And  let  judgment  nowhere  be  undergone  but  in 
the  bishop's  see  or  in  that  place  which  the  bishop  appoints  for 
this  purpose. 

2.    Writ  for  an  Inquest  of  Lands  at  Ely 

(1080.     Latin  text,  Bigelow's  Placita,  24.     Translation  by  Editors.) 

WILLIAM,  king  of  the  English,  to  Archbishop  Lanfranc,  and 
to  Roger  Count  of  Mortain,  and  to  Godfrey  Bishop  of 
Coutances,  greeting. 

I  order  and  direct  you  to  assemble  again  all  the  shires  which 
were  present  at  the  trial  held  concerning  the  lands  of  the  church 
of  Ely,  before  my  consort  went  to  Normandy  the  last  time.  With 
them,  also,  let  there  be  those  of  my  barons  who  had  the  right  to 
be  present  and  who  were  present  at  the  aforesaid  trial  and  who 
hold  lands  of  the  same  church.  When  they  have  come  together, 
let  there  be  chosen  some  of  those  Englishmen  who  know  how 
the  lands  of  the  said  church  were  situated  on  the  day  that  King 
Edward  died,  and  what  they  say  about  it  let  them,  thereupon, 
witness  by  an  oath.  This  done,  let  there  be  restored  to  the  church 
the  lands  which  were  in  its  demesne  on  the  day  of  the  death  of 
Edward,  excepting  those  which  men  claim  that  I  have  given  to 
them.  With  regard  to  these,  signify  to  me  by  letters  which  they 
are  and  who  hold  them.  But  let  those  who  hold  lands  by  service, 
which,  without  doubt,  ought  to  be  held  from  the  church,  make  the 
best  agreement  they  can  with  the  abbot,  and  if  they  refuse,  let  the 
lands  remain  to  the  church.  Let  this  also  be  done  concerning 
those  who  hold  sac  and  soc.  Finally,  order  those  men  who  hith- 
erto by  my  order  and  direction  have  been  accustomed  to  do  it,  to 
keep  in  repair  the  bridge  at  Ely. 


3.    Title  of  the  Domesday  Inquest  for  Ely 

(1086.     Latin  text,  Stubbs,  S.  C.  86.    Translation  by  Editors.    I  Stubbs,  416.) 

HERE  is  written  down  the  inquest  of  lands,  in  what  manner  the 
king's  barons  have  made  inquisition,  namely,  by  oath  of  the 
sheriff  of  the  shire,  and  of  all  the  barons  and  of  their  Frenchmen 
and  of  the  whole  hundred,  of  the  priest,  the  reeve  and  six  villeins 
of  each  vill.  Next  the  name  of  the  manor,  who  held  it  in  the 
time  of  King  Edward,  who  holds  it  now ;  the  number  of  hides ; 


Feudal  Principles  3 

the  number  of  plows  on  the  demesne,  the  number  of  those  of  the 
men  ;  the  number  of  villeins  ;  the  number  of  cotters  ;  the  number 
of  serfs ;  the  number  of  freemen ;  the  number  of  sokemen ;  the 
amount  of  forest ;  the  amount  of  meadow ;  the  number  of  pastures  ; 
the  number  of  mills ;  the  number  of  fishponds ;  how  much  it  has 
been  increased  or  diminished;  how  much  it  was  all  worth  then; 
and  how  much  now ;  how  much  each  freeman  and  sokeman  held 
and  holds  there.  All  this  three  times  over,  namely,  in  the  time  of 
King  Edward,  and  when  King  William  gave  it,  and  as  it  now  is, 
and  if  more  can  be  had  than  is  had. 


4.    Typical  Domesday  Entries 

(1086.     Latin  original    Translation  by  Editors.     Specific  references  below.) 

1.  The  same  earl  holds  Hiham.     Godwin  held  it.     In  the  time 
of  King  Edward  there  were  two  hides  and  a  half,  but  it  was  assessed 
at  two  hides,  as  they  say,  and  now  at  two.     There  is  land   for 
sixteen  plows.     In  demesne  is  one,  and   thirty  villeins  and  ten 
borders  with  nineteen  plows.    There  are  six  acres  of  meadow  and 
woods  for  two  hogs.     In  the  time  of  King  Edward  it  was  worth 
loo  shillings,  now  six  pounds.     It  has  been  waste,     (i  Domes- 
day, 20,  a.) 

2.  To  the  use  of  this  manor  the   same   Hugh  claims  three 
messuages  and  a  corner  of  a  meadow  and  one  virgate  and  five 
acres  of  land  against  Turstin  the  chamberlain.     Concerning  this 
the  whole  hundred   bears  testimony  that   his  predecessors  were 
seised  of  it  and  holding  it  on  the  day  on  which  King  Edward  was 
alive  and  dead,     (i  Domtsday,  45,  a.) 

5.    Writ  applying  Feudal  Principles  to  the 
Church 

(1095.    Latin  text,  Round's  Feudal  England,  309.     Translation  by  Editors, 
i  Stubbs,  325.) 

"\  1  71LLIAM,  King  of  the  English,  to  all  the  French  and  English 
VV      who  occupy  freeholds   from  the  bishopric  of  Worcester, 
greeting. 

Know  ye  that  since  the  bishop  has  died,  the  honor  has  returned 
into  my  possession.  Now  I  will  that  you  should  give  me  from 
your  lands  such  relief  as  I  have  arranged  [assessed}  through  my 


4  English  Constitutional  Documents 

barons.     Hugh  de  Lacy,  twenty  pounds ;  Walter  Punher,  twenty 
pounds ;     *     *     *     Chipping,  twenty  shillings. 

Witness :  Ranulf  the  chaplain,  and  Eudes  the  steward,  and 
Urso  de  Abetot.  If  any  one  shall  refuse  to  do  this,  Urso  and 
Bernard  shall  seise  their  lands  and  money  into  my  possession. 


6.  An  Early  Iter:  The  King  vs.  The  Abbot  of 
Tavistock 

(1096.     Latin  text,  Bigelow's  Placita,  69.      Translation  by  Editors.) 

IN  the  year  of  the  Lord's  Incarnation  the  one  thousand  and 
ninty-sixth,  and  of  the  reign  of  William  the  Second  of  famous 
memory,  the  ninth,  the  said  king  sent  at  Quadragesima  into 
Devonshire,  Cornwall  and  Exeter,  his  lords  Walklin  the  Bishop 
of  Winchester,  Ranulf  the  royal  chaplain,  William  Capra,  and 
Hardin  Fitz-Belnold  to  examine  royal  pleas.  In  which  pleas, 
complaints  have  been  made  concerning  a  certain  manor  of  the 
abbey  of  Tavistock,  called  Wulurunton,  alleging  and  affirming  that 
the  said  manor  is  wrongly  held  by  the  abbey  of  Tavistock  and  that 
on  the  contrary,  it  has  always  belonged  of  right  to  the  royal 
demesne.  We  denying  their  allegations  and  false  charges,  proved 
that  in  the  judgment  of  many  of  our  predecessors  the  said  manor 
belonged  of  perpetual  right  to  the  abbey  of  Tavistock,  without 
any  dispute.  In  which  cause,  together  with  the  royal  examiners 
of  pleas  above-mentioned,  we  besought  the  King  of  the  English 
that,  for  the  love  of  God  and  Saint  Mary,  he  would  grant  that 
the  aforesaid  manor  should  belong  to  the  abbey  of  Tavistock  in 
perpetual  right,  without  any  question.  These  very  facts  having 
been  recited  in  the  king's  hearing,  the  king  himself  in  granting 
our  petition,  and,  for  the  sake  of  the  souls  of  his  father  and 
mother,  restoring  in  perpetuity  to  the  abbey  church  of  God  and 
Saint  Mary  at  Tavistock  that  manor,  namely  Wulurunton,  made 
reply  in  these  words  :  *  *  * 

7.   Charter  of  Liberties  of  Henry  I 

(i  ioo.    Latin  text,  Stubbs,  S.  C.  100.    Translation,  Cheyney,  3.    I  Stubbs,  330.) 

IN  the  year  of  the  incarnation  of  the  Lord,  not,  Henry,  son  of 
King  William,  after  the  death  of  his  brother  William,  by  the 
grace  of  God,  king  of  the  English,  to  all  faithful,  greeting  : 


Charter  of  Liberties 


1.  Know  that  by  the  mercy  of  God,  and  by  the  common  coun- 
sel of  the  barons  of  the  whole  kingdom  of  England,  I  have  been 
crowned  king  of  the  same  kingdom ;  and  because  the  kingdom 
has  been  oppressed  by  unjust  exactions,  I,  from  regard  to  God, 
and   from  the  love  which  I  have  toward  you,  in  the  first  place 
make  the  holy  church  of  God  free,  so  that  I  will  neither  sell  nor 
place  at  rent,  nor,  when  archbishop,  or  bishop,  or  abbot  is  dead, 
will  I  take  anything  from  the  domain  of  the  church,  or  from  its 
men,   until  a  successor  is   installed   into  it.      And  all    the    evil 
customs  by  which  the  realm  of  England  was  unjustly  oppressed 
will  I  take  away,  which  evil  customs  I  partly  set  down  here. 

2.  If  any  one  of  my  barons,  or  earls,  or  others  who  hold  from 
me  shall  have  died,  his  heir  shall  not  redeem  his  land  as  he  did 
in  the  time  of  my  brother,  but  shall  relieve  it  by  a  just  and  legiti- 
mate relief.      Similarly  also  the  men  of  my  barons  shall  relieve 
their  lands  from  their  lords  by  a  just  and  legitimate  relief. 

3.  And  if  any  one  of  the  barons  or  other  men  of  mine  wishes 
to  give  his  daughter  in  marriage,  or  his  sister  or  niece  or  relation, 
he  must  speak  with  me  about  it,  but  I  will  neither  take  anything 
from  him  for  this  permission,  nor  forbid  him  to  give  her  in  mar- 
riage, unless  he  should  wish  to  join  her  to  my  enemy.      And  if 
when  a  baron  or  other  man  of  mine  is  dead,  a  daughter  remains 
as  his  heir,  I  will  give  her  in  marriage  according  to  the  judgment 
of  my  barons,  along  with  her  land.     And  if  when  a  man  is  dead 
his  wife  remains,  and  is  without   children,  she   shall  have    her 
dowry  and  right  of  marriage,  and  I  will  not  give  her  to  a  husband 
except  according  to  her  will. 

4.  And  if  a  wife  has  survived  with  children,  she  shall  have  her 
dowry  and  marriage  portion,  so  long  as  she  shall  have  kept  her 
body  legitimately,  and  I  will  not   give  her  in   marriage,  except 
according  to  her  will.     And  the  guardian  of  the  land  and  children 
shall  be  either  the  wife  or  another  one  of  the  relatives  as  shall 
seem  to  be  most  just.     And  I  require  that  my  barons  should  deal 
similarly  with  the  sons  and  daughters  or  wives  of  their  men. 

5.  The  common  tax  on  money  which  used  to  be  taken  through 
the  cities  and  counties,  which  was  not  taken  in  the  time  of  King 
Edward,  I  now  forbid  altogether  henceforth  to  be  taken.     If  any 
one  shall  have  been  seised,  whether  a  moneyer  or  any  other,  with 
false  money,  strict  justice  shall  be  done  for  it. 

6.  All  fines  and  all  debts  which  were  owed  to  my  brother,  I 
remit,  except  my  rightful  rents,  and  except  those  payments  which 
had  been  agreed  upon  for  the  inheritances  of  others  or  for  those 
things  which  more  justly  affected  others.     And  if  any  one  for  his 


6  English  Constitutional  Documents 

own   inheritance   has  stipulated  anything,  this   I  remit,  and  all 
reliefs  which  had  been  agreed  upon  for  rightful  inheritances. 

7.  And  if  any  of  my  barons  or  men   shall  become    feeble, 
however  he  himself  shall  give  or  arrange  to  give  his  money,  I 
grant  that  it  shall  be  so  given.     Moreover,  if  he  himself,  prevented 
by  arms,  or  by  weakness,  shall  not  have  bestowed   his  money, 
or  arranged  to  bestow  it,  his  wife  or  his  children  or  parents,  and 
his  legitimate  men  shall  divide  it  for  his  soul,  as  to  them  shall 
seem  best. 

8.  If  any  of  my  barons  or  men  shall  have  committed  an  offence 
he  shall  not  give  security  to  the  extent  of  forfeiture  of  his  money, 
as  he  did  in  the  time  of  my  father,  or  of  my  brother,  but  accord- 
ing to  the  measure  of  the  offence  so  shall  he  pay,  as  he  would 
have  paid  from  the  time  of  my  father  backward,  in  the  time  of  my 
other  predecessors ;  so  that  if  he  shall  have  been  convicted  of 
treachery  or  of  crime,  he  shall  pay  as  is  just. 

9.  All  murders  moreover   before  that  day  in  which    I   was 
crowned  King,  I  pardon ;  and  those  which  shall  be  done  hence- 
forth  shall   be   punished  justly  according   to   the   law  of  King 
Edward. 

10.  The  forests,  by  the  common  agreement  of  my  barons,  I 
have  retained  in  my  own  hand,  as  my  father  held  them. 

11.  To  those  Knights  who  hold  their  land  by  the  cuirass,  I 
yield  of  my  own  gift  the  lands  of  their  demesne  ploughs  free  from 
all  payments  and  from  all  labor,  so  that  as  they  have  thus  been 
favored   by  such  a   great   alleviation,   so  they  may  readily  pro- 
vide themselves  with  horses  and  arms  for  my  service  and  for  the 
defence  of  my  kingdom. 

12.  A  firm  peace  in  my  whole  kingdom  I  establish  and  require 
to  be  kept  from  henceforth. 

13.  The  law  of  King  Edward  I  give  to  you  again  with  those 
changes  with  which  my  father  changed  it  by  the  counsel  of  his 
barons. 

14.  If  any  one  has  taken  anything  from  my  possessions  since 
the  death  of  King  William,  my  brother,  or  from  the  possessions 
of  any  one,  let  the  whole  be  immediately  returned  without  altera- 
tion, and  if  any  one  shall  have  retained  anything  thence,  he  upon 
whom  it  is  found  will  pay  it  heavily  to  me.     Witnesses  Maurice, 
bishop  of  London,  and   Gundulf,  bishop,  and  William,  bishop- 
elect,  and  Henry,  earl,  and  Simon,  earl,  and  Walter  Giffard,  and 
Robert  de  Montfort,  and  Roger  Bigod,  and  Henry  de   Port,  at 
London,  when  I  was  crowned. 


First  Charter  of  Stephen 


8.     Writ  concerning  Lands  at  Stanton 

(Date   uncertain.      Latin   text,    Chronicon  Monasterii  de  Abingdon,  ii.  84. 
Translation  by  Editors.) 

HENRY,  King  of  England,  to  Hugh  of  Buckland  and  William 
sheriff  of  Oxfordshire,  greeting. 

Order  on  my  behalf  the  men  of  your  counties  to  declare  the 
whole  truth  concerning  the  three  virgates  of  land  which  Rualcus 
de  Avranches  claims,  and  if  they  belong  to  the  manor  of  Stanton 
which  I  gave  to  him,  let  him  have  possession ;  but  if  not  let  the 
abbey  of  Abingdon  have  possession. 

Witness  :  Roger  the  chancellor.    By Basset ;  at  Cambridge. 


9.     Writ  concerning  Lands  at  Caversham 

(Date   uncertain.     Latin    text,    Chronicon  Monasterii  de   Abingdon,   ii.  85. 
Translation  by  Editors.) 

HENRY,  King  of  England,  to  Walter  Giffard  and  Agnes  his 
mother,  greeting. 

I  order  that  you  render  full  justice  to  Faritius  abbot  of  Abing- 
don concerning  the  land  which   Ralph   of  Caversham   gave   to 
Abingdon  by  your  permission,  and  of  which  the  church  was  seised ; 
and  so  do  lest  I  hear  from  thence  complaint  of  lack  of  justice. 
Witness  :  Ranulf  the  chancellor,  at  Windsor. 


10.     First  Charter  of  Stephen 

(1 135.    Latin  text,  Stubbs,  S.  C.  1 19.    Translation,  Cheyney,  5.    i  Stubbs,  346.) 

STEPHEN,  by  the  grace  of  God,  king  of  the  English,  to  the 
justices,  sheriffs,  barons,  and  all  his   ministers   and   faithful, 
French  and  English,  greeting. 

Know  that  I  have  conceded  and  by  this  my  present  charter  con- 
firmed to  all  my  barons  and  men  of  England  all  the  liberties  and 
good  laws  which  Henry,  King  of  the  English,  my  uncle,  gave  and 
conceded  to  them,  and  all  the  good  laws  and  good  customs  which 
they  had  in  the  time  of  King  Edward,  I  concede  to  them.  Where- 
fore I  wish  and  firmly  command  that  they  shall  have  and  hold  all 
those  good  laws  and  liberties  from  me  and  my  heirs,  they  and  their 
heirs,  freely,  quietly,  and  fully ;  and  I  prohibit  any  one  from  bring- 


8  English  Constitutional  Documents 

ing  any  obstacle,  or  impediment,  or  diminution  upon  them  in  these 
matters  on  pain  of  forfeiture  to  me. 
Witness  William  Martel,  at  London. 


1 1 .     Second  Charter  of  Stephen 

(1136.      Latin  text,    Stubbs,  S.   C.  120.     Translation,  Statutes  of  the  Realm 
as  in  G.  and  H.  66.     I  Stubbs,  347.) 

I  STEPHEN,  by  the  grace  of  God  and  the  assent  of  the  clergy 
and  people  elected  king  of  the  English,  and  consecrated  by 
William,  archbishop  of  Canterbury  and  legate  of  the  Holy  Roman 
Church,  and  confirmed  by  Innocent,  pontiff  of  the  Holy  Roman 
See,  from  regard  and  love  to  God,  do  grant  holy  Church  to  be 
free  and  confirm  due  reverence  to  her.  I  promise  that  I  will  not 
do  nor  allow  any  simony  in  the  Church  or  in  church  affairs.  I 
permit  and  confirm  justice  and  power  over  ecclesiastical  persons 
and  all  clerks  and  their  effects,  and  the  distribution  of  ecclesiasti- 
cal goods  to  be  in  the  hands  of  the  bishops.  The  dignities  of 
churches  confirmed  by  their  privileges,  and  their  customs  had  of 
ancient  continuance,  I  ordain  and  grant  to  remain  inviolate.  All 
the  possessions  and  holdings  of  churches  which  they  had  on  that 
day  when  William  the  king,  my  grandfather,  was  alive  and  dead, 
I  grant  to  them  to  be  free  and  absolute  without  any  appeal  from 
claimants.  But  if  the  Church  shall  hereafter  seek  to  regain  any 
of  the  things  held  or  possessed  before  the  death  of  the  same  king 
which  the  Church  has  no  longer,  I  reserve  them  for  my  indulgence 
and  dispensation  for  restoration  and  for  consideration.  But  I  con- 
firm whatever  has  been  bestowed  upon  them  since  the  death  of  this 
same  king,  by  the  liberality  of  kings  or  the  gift  of  great  men,  by 
presentation  or  acquisition,  or  by  any  exchange  of  the  faithful.  I 
promise  that  I  will  perform  peace  and  justice  in  all  things,  and 
will  maintain  these  for  them  as  far  as  I  can.  I  reserve  for  myself 
the  forests  which  William  my  grandfather,  and  William  my  uncle 
established  and  had.  All  the  others  which  King  Henry  further 
added  I  give  back  and  grant  to  the  churches  and  the  kingdom 
without  molestation.  If  any  bishop  or  abbot  or  other  ecclesiasti- 
cal person  shall,  before  his  death,  reasonably  devise  or  intend  to 
devise  his  goods,  I  grant  it  to  remain  firm.  But  if  he  shall  be 
overtaken  by  death  let  the  same  devise  take  place  with  the  advice 
of  the  Church  for  the  health  of  his  soul.  Moreover,  whilst  sees 
shall  be  without  their  proper  pastors,  these  and  all  their  posses- 


A  Trial  in  the  Curia  Regis  9 

sions  I  will  commit  to  the  hand  and  custody  of  the  clerks  or  good 
men  of  the  same  church,  until  a  pastor  be  canonically  appointed 
to  succeed.  I  entirely  abolish  ail  exactions,  and  injuries,  and 
miskennings  wrongly  introduced,  whether  by  sheriffs  or  by  any 
other.  I  will  observe,  and  command  and  ordain  to  be  observed, 
the  good  laws  and  ancient  and  just  customs  in  murders  and 
pleas  and  other  causes.  All  these  things  I  grant  and  confirm 
saving  my  royal  and  just  dignity.  Witness  :  W.  Archbishop  of 
Canterbury,  Hugh  Archbishop  of  Rouen,  and  Henry  Bishop  of 
Winchester,  and  Roger  Bishop  of  Salisbury,  and  A.  Bishop  of  Lin- 
coln, and  Nigel  Bishop  of  Ely,  and  Everard  Bishop  of  Norwich, 
and  Simon  Bishop  of  Worcester,  and  Bernard  Bishop  of  Saint 
David's,  and  Owen  Bishop  of  Evreux,  Richard  Bishop  of  Avranches, 
Robert  Bishop  of  Hereford,  John  Bishop  of  Rochester,  Athelwulf 
Bishop  of  Carlisle,  and  other  lay  signatories.  At  Oxford,  in  the 
year  1136  from  the  Lord's  Incarnation,  and  the  first  of  my  reign. 


12.    A  Trial  in  the  Curia  Regis.     Case  of 
Abbot  Walter  vs.  Gilbert  de  Baillol 

(c.  1 154.    Latin  text,  Bigelow's  Placita,  1 75.     Translation  by  Editors.) 

["  /TT*HE  king  grants  his  writ  at  the  instance  of  Walter,  abbot 
of  Saint  Martin,  to  John,  earl  of  Eu,  commanding  him  to 
do  justice  by  the  abbot  against  Gilbert  de  Baillol  as  to  certain 
lands.  The  defendant  evades  the  trial  in  various  ways.  Leave 
is  finally  obtained  to  bring  the  suit  into  the  King's  Court,  but  the 
king's  presence  cannot  be  obtained.  The  cause,  though  much 
litigated  before  the  justiciars,  comes  to  no  satisfactory  conclusion. 
The  king's  presence  is  at  last  obtained,  and  the  trial  proceeds." 
—  BIGELOW.] 

*  *  *  Now  therefore,  since  there  was  no  longer  opportunity  for 
excuse,  both  parties  appeared  before  the  lord  king,  sitting  in  the 
seat  of  judgment.  There  stood  forth  in  the  midst  one  of  the 
abbot's  monks  named  Osmund,  and  a  knight,  Peter  de  Chriel, 
who,  beginning  at  the  beginning  of  the  whole  court  proceedings, 
set  forth  in  order  before  the  king  and  his  assessors,  how  the  said 
land  of  Barnhorn  had  been  partly  given  to  the  church  of  Saint 
Martin  of  Battle,  and  partly  purchased,  how  afterwards  it  was 
taken  away,  and  also  how  far  progress  had  been  made  in  the  case, 
at  the  present  so  long  since  the  beginning  of  the  suit ;  adding  also 
their  complaint  over  the  great  and  expensive  delay  of  the  affair, 


IO  English  Constitutional  Documents 

and  the  constant  and  useless  annoyance  of  the  abbot  and  his  party. 
Now  since  there  was  nothing  in  this  statement  of  the  case  for  prose- 
cution which  could  be  successfully  controverted,  as  the  Curia  Regis 
possessed  testimony  on  every  point ;  at  the  permission  of  the  king, 
the  deeds  of  purchase  and  of  gift  were  read  in  the  hearing  of  all, 
and  also  the  charters  of  confirmation.  Since  the  other  party  had 
little  to  answer  to  these,  Gilbert  de  Baillol,  that  he  might  not  seem 
to  make  no  objection,  answered  that  he  had  heard  the  reading 
of  the  deeds  given  by  his  predecessors,  but  he  took  occasion  to 
note  that  no  seals  were  affixed  to  them  in  attestation.  Turning  to 
him,  that  splendid  and  wise  man  Richard  de  Lucy,  the  brother  of 
the  said  abbot,  then  the  Justiciar  of  the  lord  king,  inquired  whether 
he  had  a  seal.  Upon  his  reply  that  he  had  a  seal,  the  illustrious 
man  smiled  and  said,  "The  old  fashion  was  not  for  every  little 
knight  to  have  a  seal,  but  it  was  customary  for  only  kings  and  peo- 
ple of  consequence  to  have  them,  and  in  the  old  times  spite  did 
not  make  men  pettifoggers  or  sceptics."  And  when  the  said  Gil- 
bert strove  to  cast  doubt  upon  the  confirmation  by  King  Henry 
the  elder,  alleging  that  the  abbot  and  monks  were  able  to  persuade 
the  lord  king  not  as  a  matter  of  justice  but  of  favor,  the  lord  king, 
taking  the  charter  and  seal  of  his  grandfather  King  Henry  into  his 
own  hands  and  turning  to  the  said  Gilbert,  said,  "  By  the  eyes  of 
God,  if  you  can  prove  this  charter  false,  it  will  be  worth  a  thou- 
sand pounds  to  me  in  England."  As  he  made  little  or  no  reply 
to  these  words,  the  king  made  this  noteworthy  remark,  "  If,"  said 
he,  "the  monks  by  means  of  a  similar  charter  and  confirmation 
were  able  to  show  that  they  had  a  right  of  this  sort  to  the  present 
place,  to  wit,  Clarendon,  which  I  chiefly  love,  there  would  be  no 
just  reply  for  me  to  make  to  save  me  from  entirely  surrendering  it 
to  them."  The  king,  therefore,  turning  to  the  abbot  and  his  party, 
said,  "  Go  out,  and  having  taken  counsel,  confer  together  to  see  if 
perchance  there  is  anything  upon  which  you  wish  to  depend  rather 
than  upon  this  charter.  Still  I  do  not  think  you  will  seek  at  pres- 
ent any  other  proof."  So  the  abbot  and  his  party,  withdrawing  to 
take  council  concerning  this,  and  recognizing  that  their  charter 
sufficed  for  all  proof,  from  the  last  words  of  the  king  in  which  he 
said,  "  I  do  not  think  you  will  seek  at  present  any  other  proof," 
they  returned  into  the  presence  of  the  king  and  his  assessors,  after 
holding  the  council,  and  asserted  that  they  did  not  depend  on 
others  or  seek  other  proof  outside  of  the  Charter,  that  they  claimed 
nothing  more  or  less  but  the  charter,  but  upon  this  they  desired 
the  judgment  of  the  Curia  Regis.  As  the  other  party  had  no  reply 
to  make  inasmuch  as  it  neither  dared  nor  could  assert  that  the 


Constitutions  of  Clarendon  n 

charter  was  false  because  this  could  not  be  proved ;  by  the  unani- 
mous consent  of  the  whole  court,  judgment  was  given  that,  to  the 
abbot  and  church  of  Saint  Martin  of  Battle  restitution  should  be 
made  of  everything  which  he  demanded  on  the  testimony  of  the 
charter.  »  *  *  t 

13.    Constitutions  of  Clarendon 

(i  164.    Latin  text,  Stubbs,  S.  C.  137.   Translation, G.  and  H.  68.    I  Stubbs,  501.) 

IN  the  year  1164  from  our  Lord's  Incarnation,  the  fourth  of  the 
pontificate  of  Alexander,  the  tenth  of  Henry  II.,  most  illustri- 
ous king  of  the  English,  in  the  presence  of  the  same  king,  was 
made  this  remembrance  or  acknowledgment  of  a  certain  part  of 
the  customs,  liberties,  and  dignities  of  his  ancestors,  that  is  of  King 
Henry  his  grandfather,  and  of  others,  which  ought  to  be  observed 
and  held  in  the  realm.  And  owing  to  strifes  and  dissensions  which 
had  taken  place  between  the  clergy  and  justices  of  the  lord  the  king 
and  the  barons  of  the  realm,  in  respect  of  customs  and  dignities 
of  the  realm,  this  recognition  was  made  before  the  archbishops 
and  bishops  and  clergy,  and  the  earls  and  barons  and  nobles  of 
the  realm.  And  these  same  customs  recognized  by  the  archbishops 
and  bishops,  and  earls  and  barons,  and  by  those  of  high  rank  and 
age  in  the  realm,  Thomas  archbishop  of  Canterbury,  and  Roger 
archbishop  of  York,  and  Gilbert  bishop  of  London,  and  Henry  bishop 
of  Winchester,  and  Nigel  bishop  of  Ely,  and  William  bishop  of  Nor- 
wich, and  Robert  bishop  of  Lincoln,  and  Hilary  bishop  of  Chi- 
chester,  and  Jocelyn  bishop  of  Salisbury,  and  Richard  bishop  of 
Chester,  and  Bartholomew  bishop  of  Exeter,  and  Robert  bishop 
of  Hereford,  and  David  bishop  of  Saint  David's,  and  Roger  elect 
of  Worcester,  conceded,  and  by  word  of  mouth  steadfastly  prom- 
ised on  the  word  of  truth,  to  the  lord  the  king  and  his  heirs, 
should  be  kept  and  observed  in  good  faith  and  without  evil  intent, 
these  being  present :  Robert  earl  of  Leicester,  Reginald  earl  of 
Cornwall,  Conan  earl  of  Brittany,  John  earl  of  Eu,  Roger  earl  of 
Clare,  earl  Geoffrey  de  Mandeville,  Hugh  earl  of  Chester,  William 
earl  of  Arundel,  earl  Patrick,  William  earl  of  Ferrers,  Richard  de 
Luci,  Reginald  de  St.  Valery,  Roger  Bigod,  Reginald  de  War- 
enne,  Richer  de  Aquila,  William  de  Braose,  Richard  de  Camville, 
Nigel  de  Mowbray,  Simon  de  Beauchamp,  Humphry  de  Bohun, 
Matthew  de  Hereford,  Walter  de  Mayenne,  Manser  Biset  the 
steward,  William  Malet,  William  de  Courcy,  Robert  de  Dunstan- 
ville,  Jocelyn  de  Baillol,  William  de  Lanvallei,  William  de  Caisnet, 
Geoffrey  de  Vere,  William  de  Hastings,  Hugh  de  Moreville,  Alar 


12  English  Constitutional  Documents 

de  Neville,  Simon  son  of  Peter,  William  Maudit  the  chamberlain, 
John  Maudit,  John  Marshall,  Peter  de  Mara,  and  many  other  mag- 
nates and  nobles  of  the  realm,  as  well  clerical  as  lay. 

Now  of  the  acknowledged  customs  and  dignities,  of  the  realm  a 
certain  part  is  contained  in  the  present  document,  of  which  part 
these  are  the  chapters  :  — 

1.  If  controversy  shall  arise  between  laymen,  or  clergy  and  lay- 
men, or  clergy,  regarding  advowson  and  presentation  to  churches, 
let  it  be  treated  or  concluded  in  the  court  of  the  lord  the  king. 

2.  Churches  belonging  to  the  fee  of  the  lord  the  king  cannot 
be  granted  in  perpetuity  without  his  own  assent  and  grant. 

3.  Clerks  cited  and  accused  of  any  matter  shall,  when  summoned 
by  the  king's  justice,  come  into  his  own  court  to  answer  there  con- 
cerning what  it  shall  seem  to  the  king's  court  should  be  answered 
there,  and  in  the  church  court  for  what  it  shall  seem  should  be 
answered  there ;  yet  so  that  the  king's  justice  shall  send  into  the 
court  of  holy  Church  to  see  in  what  way  the  matter  is  there  treated. 
And  if  the  clerk  be  convicted,  or  shall  confess,  the  Church  must 
not  any  longer  protect  him. 

4.  Archbishops,  bishops,  and  persons  of  the  realm  are  not  al- 
lowed to  leave  the  kingdom  without  licence  of  the  lord  the  king ; 
and  if  they  do  leave,  they  shall,  if  the  king  so  please,  give  security 
that  neither  in  going  nor  in  staying,  nor  in  returning,  will  they  seek 
the  ill  or  damage  of  the  lord  the  king  or  realm. 

5.  Excommunicate  persons  are  not  to  give  pledge  for  the  future, 
nor  to  take  oath,  but  only  to  give  security  and  pledge  of  abiding 
by  the  church's  judgment  that  they  may  be  absolved. 

6.  Laymen  are  not  to  be  accused  save  by  proper  and  legal  ac- 
cusers and  witnesses  in  the  presence  of  the  bishop,  so  that  the 
archdeacon  do  not  lose  his  right  nor  anything  due  to  him  thence. 
And  if  the  accused  be  such  that  no  one  wills  or  dares  to  accuse 
them,  the  sheriff,  when  requested  by  the  bishop,  shall  cause  twelve 
lawful  men  from  the  neighborhood  or  the  town  to  swear  before  the 
bishop  that  they  will  show  the  truth  in  the  matter  according  to 
their  conscience. 

7.  No  one  who  holds  of  the  king  in  chief,  and  none  of  his  de 
mesne  officers  are  to  be  excommunicated,  nor  the  lands  of  any  one 
of  them  to  be  put  under  an  interdict  unless  first  the  lord  the  king, 
if  he  be  in  the  country,  or  his  justiciar  if  he  be  outside  the  king- 
dom, be  applied  to,  in  order  that  he  may  do  right  for  him ;  and  so 
that  what  shall  appertain  to  the  royal  court  be  concluded  there, 
and  that  what  shall  belong  to  the  church  court  be  sent  to  the 
same  to  be  treated  there. 


Constitutions  of  Clarendon  13 

8.  In  regard  to  appeals,  if  they  shall  occur,  they  must  proceed 
from  the  archdeacon  to  the  bishop,  and  from  the  bishop  to  the 
archbishop.     And  if  the  archbishop  fail  in  showing  justice,  they 
must  come  at  last  to  the  lord  the  king,  that  by  his  command  the 
dispute  be  concluded  in  the  archbishop's  court,  so  that  it  must  not 
go  further  without  the  assent  of  the  lord  the  king. 

9.  If  a  dispute  shall  arise  between  a  clerk  and  a  layman,  or 
between  a  layman  and  a  clerk,  in  respect  of  any  tenement  which 
the  clerk  wishes  to  bring  to  frank-almoign,  but  the  layman  to  a  lay 
fee,  it  shall  be  concluded  by  the  consideration  of  the  king's  chief 
justice  on  the  award  of  twelve  lawful  men,  whether  the  tenement 
belong  to  frank-almoign  or  to  lay  fee,  before  the  king's  justiciar 
himself.     And  if  the  award  be  that  it  belongs  to  frank-almoign  it 
shall  be  pleaded  in  the  church  court,  but  if  to  the  lay  fee,  unless 
both  claim  under  the  same  bishop  or  baron,  it  shall  be  pleaded  in 
the  king's  court.     But  if  both  appeal  concerning  this  fee  to  the 
same  bishop  or  baron,  it  shall  be  pleaded  in  his  own  court,  so  that 
for  making  the  award  he  wtio  was  first  seised,  lose  not  his  seisin 
until  the  matter  be  settled  by  the  plea. 

10.  If  any  one  of  a  city,  or  castle,  or  borough,  or  a  demesne 
manor  of  the  lord  the  king,  be  cited  by  archdeacon  or  bishop  for 
any  offence  for  which  he  ought  to  answer  them,  and  refuse  to  give 
satisfaction  at  their  citations,  it  is  well  lawful  to  place  him  under 
interdict ;  but  he  must  not  be  excommunicated  before  the  chief 
officer  of  the  lord  the  king  of  that  town  be-  applied  to,  in  order 
that  he  may  adjudge  him  to  come  for  satisfaction.     And  if  the 
king's  officer  fail  in  this,  he  shall  be  at  the  king's  mercy,  and  there- 
after the  bishop  shall  be  able  to  restrain  the  accused  by  ecclesias- 
tical justice. 

11.  Archbishops,  bishops,  and  all   persons  of  the  realm  who 
hold  of  the  king  in  chief,  have  their  possessions  from  the  lord  the 
king  as  barony,  and  are  answerable  therefor  to  the  king's  justices 
and  ministers,  and  follow  and  do  all  royal  rights  and  customs,  and 
like  all  other  barons,  have  to  be  present  at  the  trials  of  the  court 
of  the  lord  the  king  with  the  barons  until  it  comes  to  a  judgment 
of  loss  of  limb,  or  death. 

12.  When  an  archbishopric  or  bishopric  is  vacant,  or  any  abbey 
or  priory  of  the  king's  demesne,  it  must  be  in  his  own  hand,  and 
from  it  he  shall  receive  all  revenues  and  rents  as  demesne.     And 
when  they  come  to  provide  for  the  church,  the  lord  the  king  must 
cite  the  chief  persons  of  the  church,  and  the  election  must  take 
place  in  the  chapel  of  the  lord  the  king  himself,  with  the  assent 
of  the  lord  the  king,  and  the  advice  of  the  persons  of  the  realm 


14  English  Constitutional  Documents 

whom  he  shall  have  summoned  to  do  this.  And  the  person  elected 
shall  there  do  homage  and  fealty  to  the  lord  the  king  as  to  his  liege 
lord  for  his  life  and  limbs  and  earthly  honor,  saving  his  order, 
before  he  be  consecrated. 

13.  If  any  of  the  nobles  of  the  realm  forcibly  prevent  the  arch- 
bishop or  bishop  or  archdeacon  from  doing  justice  in  regard  of 
himself  or  his  people,  the  lord  the  king  must  bring  them  to  jus- 
tice.    And  if  perchance  any  one  should  deforce  the  lord  the  king, 
the  archbishops  and  bishops  and  archdeacons  must  judge  him,  so 
that  he  gives  satisfaction  to  the  lord  the  king. 

14.  The  goods  of  those  who  are  under  forfeit  of  the  king,  no 
church  or  cemetery  is  to  detain  against  the  king's  justice,  because 
they  belong  to  the  king  himself,  whether  they  be  found  inside 
churches  or  outside. 

15.  Pleas  of  debt  due  under  pledge  of  faith  or  without  pledge 
of  faith  are  to  be  in  the  king's  justice. 

1 6.  Sons  of  villeins  ought   not   to   be   ordained  without   the 
assent  of  the  lord  on  whose  land  they  are  known  to  have  been 
born. 

Now  the  record  of  the  aforesaid  royal  customs  and  dignities  was 
made  by  the  said  archbishops  and  bishops,  and  earls  and  barons, 
and  the  nobles  and  elders  of  the  realm,  at  Clarendon,  on  the  fourth 
day  before  the  purification  of  the  Blessed  Mary,  ever  Virgin,  the 
lord  Henry  the  king's  son,  with  his  father  the  lord  the  king  being 
present  there.  There  are  moreover  many  other  great  customs  and 
dignities  of  holy  Mother  Church  and  the  lord  the  king  and  the 
barons  of  the  realm,  which  are  not  contained  in  this  writing. 
And  let  them  be  safe  for  holy  Church  and  the  lord  the  king  and  his 
heirs  and  the  barons  of  the  realm,  and  be  inviolably  observed. 


14.     Assize  of  Clarendon 

(1166.     Latin  text,   Stubbs,   5.    C.    143.      Translation,  Cheyney,   22. 
i  Stubbs,  505,  662.) 

HERE    begins    the    Assize    of   Clarendon,    made    by    King 
Henry   II.   with   the   assent   of  the   archbishops,   bishops, 
abbots,  earls  and  barons  of  all  England. 

i.  In  the  first  place,  the  aforesaid  King  Henry,  with  the  con- 
sent of  all  his  barons,  for  the  preservation  of  the  peace  and  the 
keeping  of  justice,  has  enacted  that  inquiry  should  be  made  through 
the  several  counties  and  through  the  several  hundreds,  by  twelve 


Assize  of  Clarendon  15 

of  the  most  legal  men  of  the  hundred  and  by  four  of  the  most  legal 
men  of  each  vill,  upon  their  oath  that  they  will  tell  the  truth, 
whether  there  is  in  their  hundred  or  in  their  vill,  any  man  who 
has  been  accused  or  publicly  suspected  of  himself  being  a  robber, 
or  murderer,  or  thief,  or  of  being  a  receiver  of  robbers,  or  mur- 
derers, or  thieves,  since  the  lord  king  has  been  king.  And  let  the 
justices  make  this  inquiry  before  themselves,  and  the  sheriffs 
before  themselves. 

2.  And  let  any  one  who  has  been  found  by  the  oath  of  the 
aforesaid,  to  have  been  accused  or  publicly  suspected  of  having 
been  a  robber,  or  murderer,  or  thief,  or  a  receiver  of  them,  since  the 
lord  king  has  been  king,  be  arrested  and  go  to  the  ordeal  of  water 
and  let  him  swear  that  he  has  not  been  a  robber,  or  murderer,  or 
thief,  or  receiver  of  them  since  the  lord  king  has  been  king,  to  the 
value  of  five  shillings,  so  far  as  he  knows. 

3.  And  if  the  lord  of  the  man  who  has  been  arrested  or  his 
steward  or  his  men  shall  have  claimed  him,  with  a  pledge,  within 
the  third  day  after  he  has  been  seised,  let  him  be  given  up  and  his 
chattels  until  he  himself  makes  his  law. 

4.  And  when  a  robber,  or  murderer,- or  thief,  or  receiver  of 
them  shall  have  been  seised  through  the  above-mentioned  oath, 
if  the  justices  are  not  to  come  very  soon  into  that  county  where 
they  have  been  arrested,  let  the  sheriffs  send  word  to  the  nearest 
justice  by  some  intelligent  man  that  they  have  arrested  such  men, 
and  the  justices  will  send  back  word  to  the  sheriffs  where  they  wish 
that  these  should  be  brought  before  them ;  and  the  sheriffs  shall 
bring  them  before  the  justices ;  and  along  with  these  they  shall 
bring  from  the  hundred  and  the  vill  where  they  have  been  arrested, 
two  legal  men  to  carry  the  record  of  the  county  and  of  the  hundred 
as  to  why  they  were  seised,  and  there  before  the  justice  let  them 
make  their  law. 

5.  And  in  the  case  of  those  who  have  been  arrested  through 
the  aforesaid  oath  of  this  assize,  no  one  shall  have  court,  or  judg- 
ment, or  chattels,  except  the  lord  king  hi  his  court  before  his  jus- 
tices, and  the  lord  king  shall  have  all  their  chattels.     In  the  case 
of  those,  however,  who  have  been  arrested,  otherwise  than  through 
this  oath,  let  it  be  as  it  has  been  accustomed  and  ought  to  be. 

6.  And  the  sheriffs  who  have  arrested  them  shall  bring  such 
before  the  justice  without  any  other  summons  than  they  have  from 
him.    And  when  robbers,  or  murderers,  or  thieves,  or  receivers  of 
them,  who  have  been  arrested  through  the  oath  or  otherwise,  are 
handed  over  to  the  sheriffs  they  also  must  receive  them  immedi- 
ately without  delay. 


1 6  English  Constitutional  Documents 

7.  And  in  the  several  counties  where  there  are  no  jails,  let  such 
be  made  in  a  borough  or  in  some  castle  of  the  king,  from  the 
money  of  the  king  and  from  his  forest,  if  one  shall  be  near,  or 
from  some  other  neighboring  forest,  on  the  view  of  the  servants 
of  the  king ;  in  order  that  in  them  the  sheriffs  may  be  able  to 
detain  those  who  have  been  seised  by  the  officials  who  are  accus- 
tomed to  do  this  or  by  their  servants. 

8.  And  the  lord  king  moreover  wills  that  all  should  come  to 
the  county  courts  to  make  this  oath,  so  that  no  one  shall  remain 
behind  because  of  any  franchise  which  he  has  or  court  or  jurisdic- 
tion which  he  had,  but  that  they  should  come  to  the  making  of 
this  oath. 

9.  And  there  is  to  be  no  one  within  a  castle  or  without  a 
castle,  or  even  in  the  honor  of  Wallingford,  who  may  forbid  the 
sheriffs  to  enter  into  his  court  or  his  land  for  seeing  to  the  frank- 
pledges  and  that  all  are  under  pledges;  and  let  them  be  sent 
before  the  sheriffs  under  a  free  pledge. 

10.  And  in   cities   and   boroughs,  let   no   one   have   men   or 
receive  them  in  his  house  or  in  his  land  or  his  soc,  whom  he  does 
not  take  in  hand  that  he  will  produce  before  the  justice  if  they 
shall  be  required,  or  else  let  them  be  under  a  frankpledge. 

11.  And  let  there  be  none  in  a  city  or  borough  or  in  a  castle 
or  without  or  even  in  the  honor  of  Wallingford  who  shall  forbid 
the  sheriffs  to  enter  into  his  land  or  his  jurisdiction  to  arrest  those 
who  have  been  charged  or  publicly  suspected  of  being  robbers  or 
murderers  or  thieves  or  receivers  of  them,  or  outlaws,  or  persons 
charged  concerning  the  forest ;  but  he  requires  that  they  should 
aid  them  to  capture  these. 

12.  And  if  any  one  is  captured  who  has  in  his  possession  the 
fruits  of  robbery  or  theft,  if  he  is  of  bad  reputation  and  has  an  evil 
testimony  from  the  public,  and  has  not  a  warrant,  let  him  not  have 
law.     And  if  he  shall  not  have  been  publicly  suspected,  on  account 
of  the  possession  which  he  has  let  him  go  to  the  water. 

13.  And  if  any  one  shall  have  acknowledged  robbery  or  mur- 
der or  theft  or  the  reception  of  them  in  the  presence  of  legal  men 
or  of  the  hundreds,  and  afterwards  shall  wish  to  deny  it,  he  shall 
not  have  law. 

14.  The  lord  king  wills  moreover  that  those  who  make  their 
law  and  shall  be  absolved  by  the  law,  if  they  are  of  very  bad  testi- 
mony, and  publicly  and  disgracefully  spoken  ill  of  by  the  testimony 
of  many  and  legal  men,  shall  abjure  the  lands  of  the  king,  so  that 
within  eight  days  they  shall  go  over  the  sea,  unless  the  wind  shall 
have  detained  them ;  and  with  the  first  wind  which  they  shall  have 


Assize  of  Clarendon  17 

afterward  they  shall  go  over  the  sea,  and  they  shall  not  afterward 
return  into  England,  except  on  the  permission  of  the  lord  king ; 
and  then  let  them  be  outlawed  if  they  return,  and  if  they  return 
they  shall  be  seised  as  outlaws. 

15.  And  the  lord  king  forbids  any  vagabond,  that  is  a  wan- 
dering or  an  unknown  man,  to  be  sheltered  anywhere  except  in  a 
borough,  and  even  there  he  shall  be  sheltered  only  one  night,  unless 
he  shall  be  sick  there,  or  his  horse,  so  that  he  is  able  to  show  an 
evident  excuse. 

1 6.  And  if  he  shall  have  been  there  more  than  one  night,  let 
him  be  arrested  and  held  until  his  lord  shall  come  to  give  securities 
for  him,  or  until  he  himself  shall  have  secured  pledges ;  and  let  him 
likewise  be  arrested  who  has  sheltered  him. 

17.  And  if  any  sheriff  shall  have  sent  word  to  any  other  sheriff 
that  men  have  fled  from  his  county  into  another  county,  on  account 
of  robbery  or  murder  or  theft,  or  the  reception  of  them,  or  for  out- 
lawry or  for  a  charge  concerning  the  forest  of  the  king,  let  him 
arrest  them.     And  even  if  he  knows  of  himself  or  through  others 
that  such  men  have  fled  into  his  county,  let  him  arrest  them  and 
hold  them  until  he  shall  have  secured  pledges  from  them. 

1 8.  And  let  all  sheriffs  cause  a  list  to  be  made  of  all  fugitives 
who  have  fled  from  their  counties;  and  let  them  do  this  in  the 
presence  of  their  county  courts,  and  they  will  carry  the  written 
names  of  these  before  the  justices  when  they  come  first  before 
these,  so  that  they  may  be  sought  through  all  England,  and  their 
chattels  may  be  seised  for  the  use  of  the  lung. 

19.  And  the  lord  king  wills  that,  from  the  time  when  the 
sheriffs  have  received  the  summons  of  the  justices  in  eyre  to 
appear  before  them  with  their  county  courts,  they  shall  gather 
together  their  county  courts  and  make  inquiry  for  all  who  have 
recently  come  into  their  counties  since  this  assize ;  and  that  they 
should  send  them  away  with  pledges  that  they  will  be  before  the 
justices,  or  else  keep  them  in  custody  until  the  justices  come  to 
them,  and  then  they  shall  have  them  before  the  justices. 

20.  The   lord   king   moreover  prohibits    monks   and    canons 
and  all  religious  houses  from  receiving  any  one  of  the  lesser 
people  as  a  monk  or  canon  or  brother,  until  it  is  known  of  what 
reputation  he  is,  unless  he  shall  be  sick  unto  death. 

21.  The  lord  king  moreover  forbids  any  one  in  all  England 
to  receive  in  his  land  or  his  jurisdiction  or  in  a  house  under  him 
any  one  of  the  sect  of  those  renegades  who  have  been  excom- 
municated and  branded  at  Oxford.    And  if  any  one  shall  have 
received  them,  he  will  be  at  the  mercy  of  the  lord  king,  and  the 


1 8  English  Constitutional  Documents 

house  in  which  they  have  been  shall  be  carried  outside  the  village 
and  burned.  And  each  sheriff  will  take  this  oath  that  he  will 
hold  this,  and  will  make  all  his  servants  swear  this,  and  the 
stewards  of  the  barons,  and  all  knights  and  free  tenants  of  the 
counties. 

22.   And  the  lord  king  wills  that  this  assize  shall  be  held  in 
his  kingdom  so  long  as  it  shall  please  him. 


15.   Inquest  of  the  Sheriffs 

(1 170.   Latin  text,  Stubbs,  S.  C.  148.    Translation  by  Editors.     I  Stubbs,  510.) 

IN  the  first  place,  the  barons  shall  require  bond  and  surety  from 
all  the  sheriffs  who  have  been  sheriffs  since  the  lord  king  last 
went  over  to  Normandy,  and  from  all  who  since  that  time  have 
been  bailiffs  or  ministers  of  theirs  who  have  held  a  bailiwick  from 
them  and  from  all  those  who  since  that  time  have  held  the 
hundreds  of  the  barons  which  they  have  in  the  county  whether 
they  hold  them  at  a  ferm  or  in  custody ;  that  on  a  day  which 
they  shall  set  for  them  they  will  appear  before  the  lord  king  to 
do  justice  and  to  redress  to  him  and  to  his  men  what  they  ought 
to  redress.  And  if  because  of  sickness  the  sheriffs  shall  be  unable 
to  appear  before  them,  let  them  send  in  their  place  persons  to 
answer  for  them,  and  let  these  give  bond  and  surety  sufficient 
for  the  sheriffs  and  for  themselves,  that  they  will  perform  in  the 
presence  of  the  lord  king  that  which  the  sheriffs  ought  to  perform 
on  the  fixed  day. 

Afterwards  they  shall  take  an  oath  from  all  the  barons  and 
knights  and  freemen  of  the  county,  that  they  will  speak  the  truth 
concerning  that  which  shall  be  inquired  of  them  on  behalf  of  the 
lord  king,  and  that  they  will  not  conceal  the  truth  for  love  of  any 
one,  or  for  hatred,  or  for  bribe  or  reward,  or  for  fear  or  promise 
or  for  any  reason. 

This  shall  be  the  manner  of  the  inquest :  — 

I.  In  the  first  place  let  inquisition  be  made  concerning  the 
sheriffs  and  their  bailiffs  what  and  how  much  they  have  received 
from  each  hundred,  and  from  each  vill  and  from  each  man,  since 
the  lord  king  went  abroad,  whence  the  land  and  the  people  have 
been  burdened ;  and  what  they  have  received  by  a  judgment  of 
the  county  or  hundred,  and  what  without  a  judgment,  and  what 
they  learn  was  taken  by  a  judgment,  let  it  be  written  down  by 


Inquest  of  the  Sheriffs  19 

itself,  and  what  without  a  judgment  let  it  be  written  by  itself; 
and  concerning  all  exactions  inquisition  shall  be  made  of  the 
cause  and  the  evidence. 

II.  Likewise   let    inquisition   be   made   concerning   the   arch- 
bishops, bishops,  earls  and  barons,  and  their  stewards  and  officers, 
what  and  how  much  they  have  received  from  their  lands,  since 
the  said  term,  from  each  of  their  hundreds,  and  from  each  of 
their  vills,  and  from  each  of  their  men,  by  a  judgment  or  without 
a  judgment,  and  let  them  write  down  separately  all  these  exac- 
tions and  their  causes  and  occasions. 

III.  And  likewise  let  inquisition  be  made  concerning  those  men 
who  since  that  term  have  held  in  custody  other  bailiwicks  from 
the  lord  king,  whether  of  a  bishopric,  or  of  an  abbey,  or  of  a  barony, 
or  of  any  honor  or  escheat. 

IV.  And  likewise  let  inquisition  be  made  concerning  the  king's 
bailiffs  who  have  travelled   through   his   land   to   do  the   king's 
business,  which  has  been  assigned  to  them ;  and  what  they  learn 
from  this,  let  them  write  down. 

V.  Also  concerning  the  chattels  of  those  who  fled  because  of 
the  Assize  of  Clarendon  and  concerning  the  chattels  of  those  who 
have  been  undone  through  that  assize,  let  inquisition  be  made  of 
what  has  been  done  and  of  what  was  obtained  thence  in  each 
hundred   and   each   vill,  and   let  it   be   diligently  and  carefully 
written  down.     And  likewise  let  inquisition  be  made  whether  any 
one  has  been  unjustly  accused  under  that  assize   for  reward  or 
promise   or   hatred   or   other   unjust    cause ;    and   whether   any 
accusation  has  been  withdrawn  or  any  accused  person   released 
for  reward  or  promise  or  love  and  who  received  the  reward  for 
it,  and  likewise  let  this  be  written  down. 

VI.  And  let  inquisition  be  made  concerning  the  aids  for  marry- 
ing the  king's  daughter,  what  was  obtained  thence  in  each  hun- 
dred and  each  vill,  whether  in  payments  or  in  remissions,  and  to 
whom  this  has  been  handed  over  and  paid. 

VII.  And  let  inquisition  be  made  of  what  and  how  much  the 
foresters  and  their  bailiffs  and  officers  have  received,  since  the 
said   term,  in  their  offices  in  whatever  way  they  received  it   or 
under  whatever  circumstance,  and   whether  they  have   remitted 
any  of  the  rights  of  the  king  for  reward  or  promise  or  for  any 
friendship.      And   concerning  forest  offences ;  concerning   those 
who  have  injured  his  forests  and  stags  and  hinds  and  other  wild 
beasts ;  and  what  they  learn,  let  them  write  down  diligently ;  and 
whether  the  foresters  or  their  bailiffs  have  arrested  any  one   or 
attached  any  one  by  bond  and  surety  or  have  accused  any,  and 


2O  English  Constitutional  Documents 

afterwards  have  released  them  without  trial  on  their  own  re- 
sponsibility, and  let  inquisition  be  made  concerning  those  who 
have  done  these  things  and  let  it  be  written  down. 

VIII.  And  let  all  who  have  been  accused  of  anything  be  placed 
under  bond  and  surety  to  appear  before  the  lord  king  at  a  time 
which  shall  be  appointed  for  them,  and  to  do  right  and  to  redress 
to  the  king  and  to  his  men  what  they  ought  to  redress,  and  let 
those  without  sureties  be  held  in  custody. 

IX.  And  inquisition  shall  be  made  whether  the  sheriffs  or  any 
bailiffs  have  returned  any  of  the  things  which  they  have  taken  or 
whether  they  have  made  any  peace  with  men  since  they  heard 
of  the  arrival  of  the  lord  king,  to  prevent  any  complaint   from 
thence  reaching  the  lord  king. 

X.  And   let    inquisition    be    made    concerning    amercements 
whether  any  one  has  been  released,  for  reward  or   love,  from 
what  he  had  at  first  been  amerced,  and  by  whom  this  has  been 
done. 

XI.  And  let   inquisition  be  made  concerning  those  who  owe 
homage  to  the  lord  king  and  have  done  it  neither  to  him  nor  to 
his  son,  and  let  them  be  written  down. 

XII.  Concerning  the  demesnes  of  the  lord  king,  let  inquisition 
be  made  whether  the  houses  are  enclosed  with  ditch  and  hedge, 
and  whether  there  are  granaries  there,  and  cow-sheds,  and  sheep- 
folds  and  other  buildings  and  stock,  as  the  lord  king  ordered 
before  he  went  abroad. 

XIII.  And   after  they  have   been   examined,  my  sheriffs  and 
officers  shall  employ  themselves  about  my  other  affairs,  and  they 
shall  swear  to  attend  lawfully  to  making  the  inquest  throughout 
the  lands  of  the  barons. 


1 6.    Assize  of  Northampton 

(1176.   Latin  text,  Stubbs,5.  C.  150.    Translation  by  Editors.     I  Stubbs,  522.) 

THESE   are  the  assizes   made  at  Clarendon   and   afterwards 
revised  at  Northampton. 

i.  If  any  one  shall  have  been  accused  before  the  justices  of 
the  lord  king  of  murder  or  theft  or  robbery  or  of  harboring 
men  who  do  such  things  or  of  forgery  or  arson,  by  the  oath  of 
twelve  knights  of  the  hundred,  or  if  knights  are  not  present,  by 
the  oath  of  twelve  freemen,  lawful  men,  and  by  the  oath  of  four 


Assize  of  Northampton  21 

men  from  each  vill  of  the  hundred,  he  shall  go  to  the  ordeal  of 
water,  and  if  he  is  undone  he  shall  lose  one  foot.  And  at  North- 
ampton it  was  added  for  rigorous  justice  that  he  shall  likewise  lose 
his  right  hand  with  his  foot,  and  he  shall  abjure  the  realm  and 
within  forty  days  he  shall  leave  the  kingdom.  And  if  he  shall 
have  been  to  the  water  whole  he  shall  furnish  sureties  and  remain 
in  the  kingdom,  unless  he  has  been  accused  of  murder  or  other 
infamous  felony  by  the  community  of  the  county  and  of  the  lawful 
knights  of  the  country,  of  which  if  he  has  been  accused  in  the  said 
manner,  although  he  has  been  to  the  water  safely,  nevertheless 
within  forty  days  he  shall  depart  from  the  realm,  and  take  with 
him  his  chattels  saving  the  rights  of  his  lords,  and  at  the  mercy 
of  the  lord  king  he  shall  abjure  the  realm.  Moreover  this  assize 
shall  be  in  force  from  the  time  the  assize  was  made  at  Clarendon 
continuously  to  this  time  and  from  now  on  as  long  as  it  shall  please 
the  lord  king,  in  cases  of  murder  and  treason  and  arson  and  in  all 
of  the  aforesaid  cases  except  in  petty  thefts  and  robberies  which 
have  been  committed  in  time  of  war,  such  as  of  horses,  oxen  and 
smaller  things. 

2.  Item  let  no  one  either  in  borough  or  vill  entertain  in  his 
house  for  more  than  one  night  any  stranger  for  whom  he  refuses 
to  be  responsible,  unless  the  hospitality  has  a  reasonable  excuse, 
which  the  master  of  the  house  shall  declare   to  his   neighbors. 
And  when  he  leaves,  let  him  depart  in  the  presence  of  the  neigh- 
bors and  by  day. 

3.  If  any  one  has  about  him  the  fruits  of  murder  or  theft  or 
robbery  or  forgery  and  confesses  it  or  any  other  felony  which  he 
has  committed,  before  the  reeve  of  the  hundred  or  borough  and 
before  lawful  men,  he  cannot  afterwards  deny  that  crime  before 
the  justices.     And  likewise,  if  without  such  fruits  in  his  possession, 
he  shall  confess  anything  of  the  sort  before  them,  in  like  manner 
he  cannot  deny  this  before  the  justices. 

4.  Item  if  any  freeholder  dies  let  his  heirs  remain  in  such 
seisin  as  their  father  had  of  his  fee  on  the  day  of  his  death,  and 
let  them  have  his  chattels  out  of  which  they  shall  execute  the  will 
of  the  deceased :  and  afterwards  they  shall  seek  out  their  lord  and 
pay  him  a  relief  and  the  other  things  which  they  ought  to  pay  him 
from  their  fee.     And  if  the  heir  is  under  age  the  lord  of  the  fee 
shall  receive  his  homage  and  may  keep  him  in  custody  as  long  as 
is  his  right.     The  other  lords  if  there  are  several  shall  receive  his 
homage  and  he  shall  render  to  them  what  is  right.     And  let  the 
wife  of  the  deceased  have  her  dowry  and  the  portion  of  his  chat- 
tels which  falls  to  her.    And  if  the  lord  of  the  fee  shall  refuse  the 


22  English  Constitutional  Documents 

heirs  of  the  deceased  the  seisin  of  the  said  deceased  which  they 
claim,  the  justices  of  the  lord  king  shall  thereupon  cause  recog- 
nition to  be  made  by  twelve  lawful  men  of  what  seisin  the  deceased 
had  of  it  on  the  day  of  his  death  :  and  according  to  the  recognition, 
restitution  shall  be  made  to  his  heirs.  And  if  any  one  has  done 
contrary  to  this  and  has  been  convicted  of  it  let  him  remain  at  the 
king's  mercy. 

5.  Item  the  king's  justices  shall  cause  a  recognition  to  be  made 
of  dispossessions  contrary  to  the  Assize,  since  the  lord  king's  com- 
ing to  England  next  after  the  peace  made   between  him  and  the 
king  his  son. 

6.  Item  the  justices  shall  receive  oaths  of  fealty  for  the  lord 
king  from  the  first  Sunday  after  Easter  to  the  first  Sunday  after 
Pentecost  from  all,  to  wit,  earls,  barons,  knights  and  freeholders, 
and  also  villeins,  who  wish  to  remain  in  the  realm.     And  who- 
ever refuses  to  take  the  oath  of  fealty,   shall  be  arrested  as  an 
enemy  of  the  lord  king.     The  justices  are  also  to  give  orders  that 
all  those  who  have  not  yet  paid  homage    and  allegiance  to  the 
lord  king  that,  at  a  time  which  shall  be  named  for  them,  they  shall 
come  and  pay  homage  and  allegiance  to  the  king  as  liege  lord. 

7.  Item  the  justices  shall  determine  all  pleas  and  rights  per- 
taining to  the  lord  king  and  to  his  crown,  by  writ  of  the  lord  king 
or  of  those  who  shall  be  in  his  place,  in  the  matter  of  a  half  a 
knight's  fee  and  under,  unless  the  dispute  is  so  great  that  it  can- 
not be  settled  without  the  lord  king,  or  such  as  the  justices  shall 
refer  to  him  or  to  those  who  shall  be  in   his  place  on  account  of 
their  uncertainty.     They  shall  take  care  according  to  their  ability 
to  act  for  the  advantage  of  the  lord  king.     They  shall  also  hold 
assize  in  the  case  of  wicked  robbers  and   evil-doers  of  the  land, 
in  the  counties  through  which  they  are  about  to  go,  which  assize 
is  by  the  advice  of  the  king  his  son  and  of  his  men. 

8.  Item  the  justices  shall  see  to  it  that  those  castles  which  were 
destroyed  are  completely  destroyed  and  that  those  which  ought 
to  be  destroyed  are  leveled  to  the  ground.     And  unless  they  shall 
do  this  the  lord  king  will  have  the  judgment  of  his  court  upon 
them  as  upon  those  who  hold  in  contempt  his  commands. 

9.  Item  the  justices  shall  make   inquisition   with   regard   to 
churches  and  lands  and  women  who  are  in  the  gift  of  the  lord 
king. 

10.  Item  let  the  bailiffs  of  the  lord  king  answer  to  the  exchequer 
both  for  the  returns  from  the  assize  and  for  all  their  acquisitions 
which  they  make  in  their  bailiwicks ;  those  being  excepted  which 
pertain  to  the  office  of  sheriff. 


Assize  o£  Arms  23 

11.  Item  the  justices  shall  make  inquisition  concerning  the 
custody   of  castles   both   by   whom  and  how  much  and  where 
service   ought  to   be   made   and   let   them   report   to   the   lord 
king. 

12.  Item  a  thief  when  he  is  arrested  shall  be  handed  over  to 
the  custody  of  the  sheriff.     And  if  the  sheriff  should  be  absent,  he 
shall  be  taken  to  the  nearest  warden  of  a  castle  and  he  shall  guard 
him  till  he  delivers  him  to  the  sheriff. 

13.  Item  the  justices  shall  cause  search  to  be  made  according 
to  the  custom  of  the  land  for  those  who  have  fled  from  the  king- 
dom ;  and  unless  they  are  willing  to  return  within  the  set  time 
and  stand  trial  in  the  court  of  the  lord  king,  then  let  them  be  out- 
lawed ;  and  let  the  names  of  the  outlaws  be  reported  at  Easter 
and  at  Michaelmas  to  the  exchequer  and  from  thence  they  shall 
be  sent  to  the  lord  king. 


1 7.     Assize  of  Arms 

(1181.   Latin  text,  Stubbs,  S.  C.  154.    Translation  by  Editors.    I  Stubbs,632.) 

A  SSIZE  concerning  the  bearing  of  arms  in  England. 
*"V  i.  Let  whoever  holds  a  knight's  fee  have  a  coat  of  mail 
and  a  helmet,  a  shield  and  a  lance ;  and  let  every  knight  have  as 
many  coats  of  mail,  and  helmets,  and  shields,  and  lances  as  he 
has  knight's  fees  in  his  demesne  [that  is,  not  subinfeudated,  or 
held  by  knights  under  him], 

2.  Also,  let  every  free  layman  who  is  worth  sixteen  marks  in  chat- 
tels or  in  revenue  have  a  coat  of  mail  and  a  helmet  and  a  shield  and 
a  lance ;  also,  let  every  free  layman  who  is  worth  ten  marks  in 
chattels  or  revenue  have  a  hauberk  and  a  head-piece  of  iron  and 
a  lance. 

3.  Item  let  all  burghers  and  the  whole  body  of  freemen  have  a 
doublet  of  mail  and  a  head-piece  of  iron  and  a  lance. 

4.  Moreover  let  each  one  of  them  swear  that  before  the  feast  of 
Saint  Hilary  he  will  have  these  arms  and  that  he  will  bear  faith  to 
the  lord  king  Henry,  namely  the  son  of  the  empress  Matilda,  and 
that  he  will  bear  these  arms  in  his  service  according  to  his  order 
and  for  the  protection  of  the  lord  king  and  of  his  realm.     And  let 
no  one  who  has  these  arms  sell  them  or  pledge  them  or  give  them 
away,  or  in  any  other  manner  alienate  them,  neither  let  a  lord  in 
any  manner  take  them  away  from  his  man,  either  by  forfeiture,  or 
by  gift  or  as  a  pledge,  or  in  any  other  manner. 


24  English  Constitutional  Documents 

5.  If  any  one  having  these  arms  shall  die,  let  his  arms  remain 
to  his  heir.     But  if  the  heir  should  be  of  such  age  that  he  could 
not  use  the  arms  if  there  should  be  need  let  the  one  who  has  him 
in  custody  likewise  have  the  custody  of  his  arms  and  let  him  find 
a  man  who  can  use  arms  in  the  service  of  the  lord  king  until  the 
heir  is  of  such  age  that  he  can  bear  arms,  and  then  let  him  have 
them. 

6.  Let  every  burgher  who  has  more  arms  than  he  need  have 
according  to  this  assize  sell  them  or  give  them  away  or  otherwise 
alienate  them  to  such  a  man  as  will  keep  them  in  the  service  of 
the  lord  king  of  England.      And  let  none  of  them  keep  more 
arms  than  he  is  required  to  have  according  to  this  assize. 

7.  Item  let  no  Jew  keep  a  coat  of  mail  or  a  hauberk  in  his 
possession,  but  let  him  sell  it  or  give  it  away  or  otherwise  dispose 
of  it  so  that  it  shall  remain  in  the  service  of  the  king. 

8.  Item  let  no  one  carry  arms  out  of  England  except  by  the 
order  of  the  lord  king ;  neither  let  any  one  sell  arms  to  any  one 
who  will  carry  them  out  of  England. 

9.  Item  let  the  justices  cause   oaths  to  be  taken  by  lawful 
knights  or  other  free  and  lawful  men  of  the  hundred  or  borough 
as  many  as  they  shall  see  fit,  who  shall  have  the  value  of  chattels 
which  makes  it  necessary  for  him  to  have  a  coat  of  mail  and  a 
helmet  and  a  lance  and  a  shield  according  as  has  been  said ;  to 
wit,  that  one  by  one  they  will  name  to  them  all  from  their  hun- 
dreds and  neighborhoods  and  boroughs  who  have  sixteen  marks 
either  in  chattels  or  in  revenue,  and  likewise  those  who  have  ten 
marks.     And  afterwards  let  the  justices  cause  all  those  jurors  and 
others  to  be  registered ;  who  have  such  an  amount  of  chattels  and 
revenues  and  what  arms  each  ought  to  have  according  to  the  value 
of  chattels  or  revenues,  and  afterwards  in  their  presence,  in  the 
hearing  of  all  those  persons,  let  them  cause  that  this  assize  con- 
cerning the  having  of  arms  be  read  and  that  they  swear  that  they 
will  have  these  arms  according  to  the  aforesaid  value  of  chattels  or 
revenue,  and  that  they  will  hold  them  at  the  service  of  the  lord  king 
according  to  this  said  assize  at  the  command  and  for  the  protection 
of  the  lord  king  Henry  and  of  his  realm.    If  indeed  it  should  happen 
that  any  of  those  who  ought  to  have  these  arms  are  not  in  the 
county  at  the  time  when  the  justices  shall  be  in  that  county,  the 
justices  shall  fix  for  him  a  time  in  another  county,  in  their  pres- 
ence.     And  if  he  shall  not  have  come  to  them  in  any  county 
through  which  they  shall  go  and  he  has  not  been  in  this  land,  a 
time  shall  be  appointed  for  him  at  Westminster  in  the  octaves  of 
Saint  Michael,  that  he  shall  be  there  to  make  his  oath,  as  he  values 


Assize  of  the  Forest  or  of  Woodstock         25 

his  life  and  property.  And  let  it  be  commanded  him  that  before 
the  feast  of  the  said  Saint  Hilary,  he  shall  have  arms  according  as 
it  is  required  of  him. 

10.  Item  let  the  justices  cause  to  be  proclaimed  throughout  all 
the  counties  through  which  they  shall  go,  that  whoever  has  not 
these  arms  according  as  is  aforesaid,  the  lord  king  shall  have 
recourse  to  their  persons  and  not  at  all  to  their  land  or  chattels. 

11.  Item  let  no  one  swear  concerning  lawful  and  free  men,  who 
has  not  sixteen  marks  or  ten  marks  in  chattels. 

12.  Item  let  the  justices  order  throughout  all  the  counties  that 
no  one,  as  he  values  his  life  and  property,  shall  buy  or  sell  any  ship 
to  be  taken  away  from  England,  and  that  no  one  shall  export  or 
cause  to  be  exported  from  England,  timber.     And  the  king  com- 
mands that  no  one  shall  be  received  for  the  oath  of  arms  except  a 
freeman. 


1 8.     Assize  of  the  Forest  or  of  Woodstock 

(1184.   Latin  text,  Stubbs,  S.  C.  157.    Translation  by  Editors.     I  Stubbs,  527.) 

HERE  begins  the  assize  of  the  Forest  of  the  lord  Henry  the 
king. 

This  is  the  assize  of  lord  Henry  the  king,  the  son  of  Matilda,  in 
England,  concerning  the  forest  and  his  venison,  by  the  advice  and 
assent  of  the  archbishops,  bishops  and  barons,  earls  and  nobles  of 
England,  at  Woodstock. 

i.  First  he  forbids  that  any  one  shall  offend  in  regard  to  his  veni- 
son or  his  forests  in  any  respect :  and  he  wills  that  no  trust  shall 
be  put  in  the  fact  that  hitherto  he  has  had  mercy  because  of  their 
chattels  upon  those  who  had  offended  in  regard  to  his  venison  and 
his  forests.  For  if  any  one  hereafter  shall  offend  and  be  convicted 
thereof,  he  wills  that  full  justice  be  exacted  as  was  done  in  the  time 
of  king  Henry  his  grandfather. 

2.  Item  he  forbids  that  any  one  shall  have  bows  or  arrows,  or 
hounds,  or  harriers  in  his  forests  unless  he  shall  have  as  his  war- 
rantor the  king  or  some  one  else  who  has  the  power  to  act  as 
warrantor. 

3.  Item  he  forbids  that  any  one  shall  give  or  sell  anything  to 
the  wasting  or  destruction  of  his  woods  which  are  within  the 
forest  of  king  Henry :  he  grants  fully  that  they  may  take  from 
their  woods  what  shall  be  necessary  for  them  (i.e.  firewood),  with- 
out wasting,  and  this  at  the  view  of  the  royal  forester. 


26  English  Constitutional  Documents 

4.  Item  he  orders  that  all  those  who  have  woods  within  the 
bounds  of  the  royal  forest,  shall  place  suitable  foresters  in  their 
woods,  for  which  foresters  let  those  to  whom  the  woods  belong 
be  sureties  or  find  suitable  sureties  who  can  give  redress  if  the 
foresters  offend  in  regard  to  anything  which  pertains  to  the  lord 
king.  '  And  those  who,  without  the  bounds  of  the  forest  visitation, 
have  woods  in  which  the  venison  of  the  lord  king  has  peace  [i.e. 
is  under  the  protection  of  the  law]  shall  have  no  forester  unless 
they  have  sworn  to  the  assize  of  the  lord  king,  and  to  the  peace 
of  his  venison,  and  to  have  some  guardian  for  the  keeping  of  his 
woods. 

5.  Item  the  lord  king  orders  that  his  foresters  shall  take  care 
concerning  the  forests  of  knights  and  others  who  have  woods 
within  the  bounds  of  the  royal  forest,  that  the  woods  be  not 
destroyed ;  for  if  in  spite  of  this  they  shall  have  been  destroyed, 
let  those  whose  woods  have  been  destroyed  know  well  that  redress 
will  be  exacted  from  their  persons  or  their  lands  and  not  from 
another. 

6.  Item  the  lord  king  orders  that  all  his  foresters  shall  swear 
that  according  to  their  ability  they  will  hold  the  assize  of  his  for- 
ests as  he  made  it ;  and  that  they  will  not  annoy  knights  or  other 
worthy  men  concerning  anything  which  the  lord  king  has  granted 
to  them  in  regard  to  their  woods. 

7.  Item  the  king  orders  that  in  every  county  in  which  he  has 
venison,  twelve  knights  shall  be  appointed  for  guarding  his  vert 
and  venison  with  the  forest ;  and  that  four  knights  shall  be  ap- 
pointed to  agist  his  woods  and  to  receive  and  keep  his  pasture 
rents ;   and  the  king  forbids  that  any  one  shall  agist  his  woods 
within  the  bounds  of  the  forest  before  the  king's  own  woods  have 
been  agisted,  and  the  lord  king's  period  for  agisting  the  forest 
shall  begin  fifteen  days  before  Michaelmas  and  shall  last  fifteen 
days  after  Michaelmas. 

8.  And  the  king  orders  that  if  his  forester  shall  have  demesne 
woods  of  the  lord  king  in  his  custody,  and  those  woods  shall  have 
been  destroyed,  and  he  can  neither  give  nor  allege  a  good  reason 
for  the  destruction  of  the  woods,  the  person  of  the  forester  himself 
and  not  something  else  shall  be  seized. 

9.  Item  the  king  forbids  that  any  clerk  shall  offend  in  regard 
to  his  venison  or  his  forests  :  he  especially  orders  his  foresters  that 
if  they  find  them  offending,  they  shall  not  hesitate  to  lay  hands 
upon  them  to  seise  and  arrest  them,  and  the  king  himself  will  fully 
warrant  them. 

io.  Item  the  king  orders  that  his  essarts  new  and  old  shall  be 


Ordinance  of  the  Saladin  Tithe 


inspected  [every  third  year],  and  his  purprestures  and  wastes  of  the 
forest  and  that  each  be  recorded  by  itself. 

11.  Item  the  king  orders  that  the  [archbishops,  bishops]  earls 
and  barons  and  knights  and  freeholders  and  all  men  shall  come 
at  the  summons  of  his  master  forester  if  they  wish  to  avoid  being 
at  the  mercy  of  the  lord  king,  to  try  the  forest  pleas  of  the  lord 
king  and  to  transact  his  other  business  in  county  court. 

12.  At  Woodstock   the   king   orders   that  from  whoever   has 
offended  in  regard  to  his  forests  for  the  first  time,  good  sureties 
shall  be  taken  ;  and  if  he  shall  offend  a  second  time,  likewise  ;  but 
if  he  shall  offend  a  third  time,  for  the  third  offence  no  other  sureties 
shall  be  taken  from  him,  nor  anything  else  except  the  very  person 
of  the  offender. 

[13.  Item  he  orders  that  every  man  of  twelve  years  of  age, 
remaining  within  the  hunting  reserve,  and  clerks  holding  a  lay  fief 
shall  take  oath  to  keep  his  peace. 

14.  Item  he  orders  that  the  lawing  of  mastiffs  shall  be  per- 
formed wherever  his  wild  animals  have  peace  or  are  accustomed 
to  have  it. 

15.  Item  he  orders  that  no  tanner  or  bleacher  of  hides  shall 
dwell  in  his  forests  outside  of  a  borough. 

1  6.  Item  the  king  orders  that  no  one  for  the  future  shall  chase 
in  any  manner  to  capture  wild  animals  by  night  within  or  without 
the  forest,  wherever  his  wild  animals  frequent  or  are  accustomed 
to  have  peace,  under  penalty  of  imprisonment  for  one  year  and 
of  paying  a  fine  or  ransom  at  the  king's  pleasure,  and  that  no  one, 
under  the  same  penalty,  shall  make  any  obstruction  living  or  dead 
against  his  wild  animals  in  his  forests  and  woods  or  in  other  places 
disafforested  by  himself  or  his  predecessors.] 


19.     Ordinance  of  the  Saladin  Tithe 

(1188.  Latin  text,  Stubbs,  S.  C.  160.   Translation  by  Editors.    I  Stubbs,  627.) 

1.  THIS  year  each  one  shall  give  in  alms  a  tenth  of  his  revenues 
and  movables,  with  the  exception  of  the  arms  and  horses  and 
clothing  of  the  knights,  and  likewise  with  the  exception  of  the 
horses   and   books   and  clothing  and  vestments  and  articles  re- 
quired in  divine  service  of  whatever  sort  of  the  clerks,  and  of  the 
precious  stones  of  both  clerks  and  laymen. 

2.  Moreover  this  money  shall  be  collected  in  each  parish  in 


28  English  Constitutional  Documents 

the  presence  of  the  parish  priest  and  the  arch-priest,  and  one 
Knight-Templar  and  one  Knight- Hospitaller,  and  a  servant  of  the 
lord  king  and  the  king's  clerk,  and  a  servant  of  the  baron  and  his 
clerk,  and  a  clerk  of  the  bishops ;  excommunication  having  been 
pronounced  previously  by  the  archbishops,  bishops  and  arch- 
priests  each  one  in  every  parish  upon  any  one  who  does  not 
rightfully  give  the  aforesaid  tenth  in  the  presence  and  cognizance 
of  those  who  ought  to  be  present,  as  has  been  said.  And  if  any 
one,  to  their  knowledge  shall  have  given  less  than  he  ought,  four 
or  six  lawful  men  shall  be  chosen  from  the  parish,  who  upon  oath 
shall  declare  what  amount  he  ought  to  have  declared ;  and  then 
this  sum  shall  be  added  to  the  smaller  amount  he  had  given. 

3.  But  clerks  and  knights  who  shall  have  taken  the  cross  shall 
not  pay  this  tithe  except  for  their  own  property  and  demesnes : 
and  whatever  their  vassals  ought  to  pay  shall  be  collected  for  their 
use  by  the  aforesaid  and  the  whole  shall  be  paid  over  to  them. 

4.  Moreover  the  bishops  by  their  letters  in  each  parish  of  their 
dioceses  shall  cause  proclamation  to  be  made  on  the  day  of  the 
Nativity  and  of  Saint  Stephen  and  of  Saint  John  that  each  one 
shall  get  together  at  his  home  the  prescribed  tenth  before  the 
Purification  of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  and  on  the  following  day  and 
thereafter  in  the  presence  of  the  aforesaid  at  the  place  to  which 
he  has  been  summoned  each  man  shall  make  payment. 


20.     Writ  Prascipe 

(Latin  text,  Glanville,  Tractatus  de  legibus  et  consuetudinibus  regni  Anglia, 
I.  c.  6.    Translation  by  Editors.    Digby,  Real  Property,  Fifth  Edition,  73.) 

'"PHE  king  to  the  sheriff,  greeting. 

-•-  Command  A.  that,  lawfully  and  without  delay,  he  restore 
to  B.  one  hide  of  land,  in  such  a  town  from  which  the  said  B. 
complains  that  the  aforesaid  A.  is  keeping  him  by  force,  and  if  he 
does  not  do  it,  summon  him  by  good  summoners,  to  be  before  me 
or  my  justices,  on  the  morrow  after  the  octave  of  Easter  in  such  a 
place,  to  show  cause  wherefore  he  has  not  done  it ;  and  have  there 
the  summoners  and  this  writ. 
Witness  :  Ranulph  de  Glanville,  at  Clarendon. 


Form  of  Proceeding  on  the  Judicial  Visitation     29 


21.     Form  of  Proceeding  on  the  Judicial 
Visitation 

(1194.   Latin  text,  Stubbs,  S.    C.  259.     Translation,  Riley,    The  Annals  of 
Roger  de  Hoveden,  ii.  334,  with  slight  changes.     I  Stubbs,  543.) 

Form  of  Proceeding  in  the  Pleas  of  the  Crown 

IN  the  first  place,  four  knights  are  to  be  chosen  from  out  of  the 
whole  county,  who,  upon  their  oaths,  are  to  chose  two  law- 
ful knights  of  every  hundred  and  wapentake,  and  these  two  are  to 
chose  upon  their  oath  ten  knights  of  every  hundred  or  wapentake, 
or,  if  there  shall  not  be  knights  sufficient,  free  and  lawful  men,  in 
order  that  these  twelve  may  together  make  inquisition  on  each  of 
the  following  heads  in  every  hundred  or  wapentake. 

Heads  of  the  Pleas  of  the  Crown 

1.  Of  the  pleas  of  the  crown,  both  new  and  old,  and  all  those 
which  have  not  yet  been  concluded  before  the  justiciaries  of  our 
lord  the  king. 

2.  Item  of  all  recognizances  and  all  pleas  which  have  been 
summoned  before  the  justiciaries,  by  writ  of  the  king  or  of  the 
chief  justice,  or  which  have  been   sent   before  them  from  the 
supreme  court  of  the  king. 

3.  Item  of  escheats,  what  these  are  now,  and  what  these  have 
been,  since  the  king  set  out  on  his  expedition  to  the  land  of  Jeru- 
salem;   and   what   were  at  that  time  in  the  king's  hands,  and 
whether  they  are  now  in  his  hands  or  not ;  and  of  all  escheats  of 
our  lord  king,  if  they  have  been  taken  out  of  his  hands,  how,  and 
by  whom,  and  into  whose  hands  they  have  come,  and  of  what 
kind,  and  if  any  person  has  had  any  profits  from  the  same,  and 
what,  and  what  was  the  value  thereof,  and  what  is  the  present 
value ;  and  if  there  is  any  escheat,  which  belongs  to  our  lord  the 
king,  which  is  not  at  present  in  his  hands. 

4.  Item  of  churches  which  are  in  the  gift  of  our  lord  the  king. 

5.  Item  of  Wardships  of  children,  which  belong  to  our  lord  the 
king. 

6.  Item  of  marriages  of  maidens,  or  of  widows,  which  belong 
to  our  lord  the  king. 

7.  Item  of  malefactors,  and  their  harborers  and  abettors. 

8.  Item  of  forgers. 

9.  Item  of  murderers  of  the  Jews,  who  they  are,  and  of  the 
pledges  of  Jews  so  skin,  their  chattels,  lands,  debts,  and  writings 


30  English  Constitutional  Documents 

and  who  has  the  same ;  and  how  much  each  person  owes  them, 
and  what  pledges  they  had,  and  who  holds  the  same,  and  how 
much  they  are  worth,  and  who  has  the  profits  thereof,  and  what 
they  are ;  all  the  pledges  and  the  debts  of  the  Jews  so  slain  are  to 
be  seised  for  the  king ;  and  those  who  were  present  at  the  murder 
of  the  Jews,  who  have  not  made  a  composition  thereon  with  our 
lord  the  king,  or  with  his  justiciaries,  are  to  be  arrested  and  are 
not  to  be  liberated  except  by  our  lord  the  king,  or  his  justiciaries. 

10.  Item  of  all  aids  given  for  the  ransom  of  our  lord  the  king, 
how  much  each  person  promised,  and  how  much  he  has  paid,  and 
how  much  is  still  due  from  him. 

11.  Item  of  the  adherents  of  earl  John,  and  such  of  them  as 
have  made  a  composition  with  our  lord  the  king,  and  such  as  have 
not. 

12.  Item  of  the  chattels  of  earl  John  or  his  adherents,  which 
have  not  been  converted  to  the  use  of  our  lord  the  king  ;  and  how 
much  the  sheriffs  and  their  bailiffs  have  received ;  and  who  has 
given  any  thing  contrary  to  the  ancient  customs  of  the  kingdom. 

13.  Item  of  all  the  lands  of  earl  John,  of  his  demesnes,  and 
wards,  and  escheats,  and  his  gifts,  and  for  what  reason  the  same 
were  given,  and  all  the  gifts  of  earl  John  are  to  be  seised  for  our 
lord  the  king,  except  those  which  have  been  confirmed  by  the 
king. 

14.  Item  of  the  debts  and  fines  which  are  due  to  earl  John,  and 
for  what  causes  ;  and  all  the  same  are  to  be  demanded  on  behalf 
of  our  lord  the  king. 

15.  Item  of  usurers,  and  of  the  chattels  of  such  of  them  as 
are  dead. 

1 6.  Item  of  wines  sold  contrary  to  the  assize,  and  of  false  meas- 
ures for  wine  as  also  for  other  things. 

17.  Item  of  such  crusaders  as  have  died  before  setting  out  for 
the  land  of  Jerusalem  ;  and  who  possesses  their  chattels,  and  what 
they  are,  and  how  many. 

1 8.  Item  of  grand  assizes,  which  are  of  lands  a  hundred  shil- 
lings in  value  or  less. 

19.  Item  of  defaults. 

20.  Also  in  every  county  there  are  to  be  three  knights  chosen, 
and  one  clerk,  who  are  to  be  keepers  of  the  pleas  of  the  crown. 

21.  And  no  sheriff  is  to  be  justice  in  his  shrievalty,  nor  yet  in 
any  county  which  he  has  held  since  the  first  coronation  of  our  lord 
the  king. 

22.  Also  all  the  cities,  and  boroughs,  and  demesne  lands  of  our 
lord  the  king  are  to  be  talliaged. 


Form  of  Proceeding  on  the  Judicial  Visitation     31 

23.  Also,  the  said  justices,  together  with  the  bailiffs  of  William 
of  the  Church  of  Saint  Mary,  Geoffrey  Fitz-Peter,  William  de 
Chimelli,  William  Bruere,  Hugh  Bardolph,  and  of  the  sheriff  of 
each  place,  are  to  cause  the  knights  mentioned  on  the  roll  to  be 
summoned  in  their  respective  counties,  to  appear  at  a  time  and 
place  which  they  shall  signify  to  them,  and  to  make  them  swear  in 
their  presence  that  they  will  use  all  their  lawful  endeavors  to  restore 
the  lands  and  escheats  belonging  to  our  lord  the  king,  and  to  value 
the  same  to  the  advantage  of  our  lord  the  king,  and  not  through 
hatred,  favor  or  regard  for  any  person,  to  omit  so  to  do.  And  the 
said  knights  before  named  shall,  upon  their  oath,  make  choice  of 
twelve  lawful  knights,  or  free  and  lawful  men,  if  knights  shall  not 
be  found  for  the  purpose,  in  the  different  parts  of  each  county  on 
the  circuit  of  the  said  justices  itinerant,  as  shall  seem  expedient ; 
who  shall,  in  like  manner,  make  oath  that  they  will  use  all  their 
lawful  endeavors  to  restore,  and  to  value  and  establish  the  rights 
of  wardship  and  escheat  in  those  parts,  and  will  give  their  coun- 
sel and  assistance  to  advantage  the  king  therein,  as  before  men- 
tioned. The  said  jurors  shall  also,  upon  oath,  choose  from  free 
men  as  many  and  such  as  they  shall  think  necessary  for  the  per- 
formance of  the  aforesaid  business  of  our  lord  the  king  as  to  es- 
cheats and  wardships,  in  such  manner  as  may  be  best  done  for  the 
advantage  of  our  lord  the  king.  It  is  also  to  be  known,  that  the 
said  wardships  and  escheats  shall  be  made  good  out  of  the  reve- 
nues arising  therefrom  up  to  the  feast  of  Michaelmas,  as  also  from 
the  revenues  at  that  time  due ;  and,  if  they  shall  not  suffice,  then 
the  deficiency  shall  be  supplied  by  a  toll  of  our  lord  the  king :  it 
being  understood  that  those  who  hold  the  said  wardships  and  es- 
cheats to  farm  shall,  at  the  feast  of  Saint  Michael,  answer  for  the 
same,  and  thenceforward  for  the  improvements  as  well.  And  as 
for  those  .who  shall  hold  the  said  wardships  and  escheats  to  farm, 
our  lord  the  king  shall  give  them  warranty  for  the  same  from  year 
to  year  until  the  termination  thereof;  so  that,  although  our  lord 
the  king  should  give  any  of  them  to  any  person,  the  farmer  shall 
still  hold  his  farm  till  the  end  of  the  year,  by  paying  to  him  to 
whom  our  lord  the  king  shall  have  so  given  it,  the  rent  which 
shall  be  due  to  the  king  for  the  same  until  the  end  of  the  year. 
The  rights  of  justice  of  the  escheat,  however,  which  he  shall  have 
so  given  shall  remain  with  our  lord  the  king,  unless  our  lord  the 
king  shall  have  given  them  by  name.  The  farmer,  when  he  shall 
have  given  up  his  farm,  is  to  have  all  his  stock  which  he  shall  have 
placed  upon  the  farm,  and  all  his  property  over  and  above  the 
property  of  the  king  there,  freely  and  without  diminution.  They 


32  English  Constitutional   Documents 

shall  also  have  letters  patent  of  our  lord  the  archbishop,  contain- 
ing the  tenor  of  the  charter  of  our  lord  the  king  made  relative 
thereto. 

Most  diligent  enquiry  shall  also  be  made  what  is  the  rental 
assessed  upon  each  manor  in  the  demesne,  and  the  value  of  all 
other  assessments  in  the  said  manors,  and  how  many  carrucates 
there  are,  and  how  much  they  are  each  worth,  not  estimating  them 
at  a  fixed  value  of  twenty  shillings  only,  but,  according  as  the  land 
is  good  or  bad,  whether  the  value  is  likely  to  increase  or  decrease. 
Those  persons  who  shall  take  these  farms  shall  stock  their  farms, 
as  already  said,  according  to  the  above  named  value  from  the  rev- 
enues of  the  escheats  and  wardships.  Enquiry  is  also  to  be  made 
with  how  many  oxen  and  plough  horses  each  carrucate  ought  to 
be  stocked  ;  and  how  many  and  what  amount  of  stock  each  manor 
is  able  to  support  and  the  result  thereof  is  then  to  be  openly  and 
distinctly  reduced  to  writing.  The  price  set  upon  a  bull  shall  be 
four  shillings,  and  upon  a  cow  the  same,  upon  a  plough-horse  the 
same,  upon  a  sheep  with  fine  wool  ten  pence,  upon  a  sheep  with 
coarse  wool  six  pence,  upon  a  sow  twelve  pence,  and  upon  a  boar 
twelve  pence ;  and  when  the  farmers  give  up  their  farms  they 
shall  be  answerable  in  the  aforesaid  sums,  or  in  animals  payable 
for  the  same,  at  the  option  of  the  farmers ;  and  when  all  the  afore- 
said stock  shall  be  placed  thereon  and  duly  valued,  they  shall  all 
be  enrolled  openly  and  distinctly,  and  the  register  thereof  shall  be 
deposited  in  the  exchequer.  From  this  assize  are  to  be  excepted 
bishoprics  and  abbeys,  and  lands  of  barons  who  are  nearly  of  age. 

Also  let  enquiry  be  made,  by  the  oath  of  the  parties  aforesaid, 
as  to  all  wardships  and  escheats  which  are  not  in  the  hands  of 
our  lord  the  king,  and  they  are  to  be  taken  possession  of  by  our 
lord  the  king,  and  dealt  with  as  other  lands  and  escheats. 

24.    Heads  concerning  the  Jews. 

All  debts  and  pledges  of  Jews  are  to  be  enrolled",  as  also  their 
lands,  houses,  rents,  and  possessions.  Any  Jew  who  shall  make 
concealment  of  any  one  of  these  things,  shall  forfeit  to  our  lord 
the  king  his  body,  as  also  the  thing  concealed,  and  all  his  posses- 
sions and  all  his  chattels ;  and  no  Jew  shall  ever  be  allowed  to 
recover  what  he  has  so  concealed.  Also,  let  six  or  seven  places 
be  appointed  at  which  they  shall  make  their  loans,  and  let  two 
lawful  Christians  and  two  lawful  Jews  and  two  lawful  scribes  be 
appointed,  and  in  their  presence,  and  in  that  of  the  clerks  of 
William  of  the  Church  of  Saint  Mary  and  of  William  de  Chimelli, 
let  such  loans  be  made,  and  let  a  deed  describing  the  loan  be 
made,  after  the  manner  of  an  indenture.  One  part  is  to  remain 


Form  of  Proceeding  on  the  Judicial  Visitation     33 

in  the  hands  of  the  Jew,  sealed  with  his  seal  to  whom  the 
money  is  paid,  while  the  other  part  is  to  remain  in  the  common 
chest ;  on  which  there  are  to  be  three  locks ;  whereof  the  two 
Christians  are  to  keep  one  key,  the  two  Jews  another,  and  the 
clerks  of  William  of  the  Church  of  Saint  Mary  and  of  Master  Wil- 
liam de  Chimelli,  the  third ;  as  also  three  seals,  those  who  have 
the  keys  setting  thereon  their  seals.  The  clerks  also  of  the  two 
Williams  aforesaid  are  to  have  a  register  containing  copies  of  all 
the  deeds,  and  as  the  deeds  are  altered  so  shall  the  register  be 
altered.  For  each  deed  shall  be  paid  three  pence ;  a  moiety 
thereof  by  the  Jew  and  a  moiety  by  him  to  whom  the  money  is 
lent ;  of  which  the  two  scribes  are  to  have  two  pence,  and  the 
keeper  of  the  register  the  third :  and,  for  the  future,  no  loan 
shall  be  made,  no  payment  made  to  Jews,  no  alteration  of  the 
deeds,  except  in  presence  of  the  persons  aforenamed,  or  the 
major  part  of  them,  if  all  shall  be  unable  to  be  present.  The  said 
two  Christians  also  are  to  have  a  register  of  receipts  for  payments 
made  henceforth  to  Jews,  and  the  two  Jews  are  to  have  one,  and 
the  keeper  of  the  register  one.  Also,  every  Jew  shall  make  oath 
on  his  roll  [of  the  Law]  that  he  will  cause  all  his  debts,  pledges, 
rents,  and  all  his  property  and  possessions  to  be  enrolled,  and 
that,  as  above  stated,  he  will  not  conceal  anything ;  and  that,  it 
he  shall  be  able  to  learn  that  any  one  has  concealed  anything,  he 
will  secretly  disclose  the  same  to  the  judges  sent  to  them,  and 
that  forgers  of  deeds  and  clippers  of  money,  when  he  shall  know 
of  such  persons,  he  will  give  information  against,  and  detect  the 
same,  and  the  like  with  regard  to  the  deeds  so  forged. 

25.  Also,  the  inquisition  which  was  to  be  made  relative  to  the 
exactions  and  seizures  made  by  all  bailiffs  of  the  king,  as  well  by 
the  justices  as  by  the  sheriffs,  constables,  and  foresters  and  their 
servants,  since  the  time  of  the  first  coronation  of  our  lord  king 
Richard,  and  why  such  seizures  were  made,  and  by  whom ;  and 
relative  to  all  the  chattels,  gifts,  and  promises  made  on  the  occa- 
sion of  seizure  of  the  lands  of  earl  John  and  his  supporters  ;  and 
who  received  the  same,  and  what,  and  how  much,  was  deferred  by 
command  of  Hubert,  archbishop  of  Canterbury,  the  king's  chief 
justice. 


34  English  Constitutional  Documents 

22.    The  Coronation  of  John 

(May,  1199.     Latin  text,  Stubbs,  S.   C.   270.     Translation,  Giles's  Roger  of 
Wendover's  Flowers  of  History,  ii.  180,  slightly  altered.     I  Stubbs,  553.) 

JOHN  duke  of  Normandy  came  over  into  England,  and  landed 
at  Shoreham  on  the  25th  of  May;  on  the  day  after,  which 
was  the  eve  of  our  Lord's  ascension,  he  went  to  London  to  be 
crowned  there.  On  his  arrival  therefore,  the  archbishops,  bishops, 
earls,  barons,  and  all  others,  whose  duty  it  was  to  be  present  at 
his  coronation,  assembled  together.  The  archbishop,  standing 
in  the  midst,  addressed  them  thus,  "  Hear,  all  of  you,  and  be  it 
known  that  no  one  has  an  antecedent  right  to  succeed  another 
in  the  kingdom,  unless  he  shall  have  been  unanimously  elected, 
under  the  guidance  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  on  account  of  the  superior 
merits  of  his  character,  after  the  example  of  Saul  the  first  anointed 
king,  whom  the  Lord  set  over  his  people,  not  as  the  son  of  a  king, 
nor  as  born  of  royal  ancestry.  In  the  same  manner,  after  Saul 
came  David,  son  of  Jesse.  Saul  was  chosen  because  he  was  a 
brave  man,  and  suited  for  the  royal  dignity  :  David,  because  he 
was  holy  and  humble.  Thus  those  who  excel  in  vigor  are  ele- 
vated to  kingly  dignity.  But,  if  any  relative  of  a  deceased  king 
excel  others  in  merit,  all  should  the  more  readily  and  zealously 
consent  to  his  election.  We  have  said  this  to  maintain  the  cause 
of  earl  John,  who  is  here  present,  brother  of  our  illustrious  king 
Richard,  lately  deceased  without  heirs  of  his  body,  and  as  the 
said  earl  John  is  prudent,  active,  and  indubitably  noble,  we  have, 
under  God's  Holy  Spirit,  unanimously  elected  him  for  his  merits 
and  his  royal  blood."  Now  the  archbishop  was  a  man  of  bold 
character  and  a  support  to  the  kingdom  by  his  steadiness  and 
incomparable  wisdom,  no  one,  therefore,  dared  to  dispute  what 
he  said,  as  knowing  that  he  had  good  cause  for  what  he  did. 
Earl  John  and  all  who  were  present  acquiesced,  and  they  unani- 
mously elected  the  earl,  crying  out,  "  God  save  the  king."  Arch- 
bishop Hubert  was  afterwards  asked  why  he  acted  in  this  manner, 
to  which  he  replied  that  he  had  foreseen,  and  had  been  informed 
and  assured  by  revelations  that  John  would  one  day  or  other  bring 
the  kingdom  into  great  confusion,  and  that  he  might  not  have 
free  hand  to  do  this  he  determined  that  he  should  owe  his  ele- 
vation to  election  and  not  to  hereditary  right.  Moreover  the 
archbishop  placed  the  crown  on  his  head,  and  anointed  him 
king,  in  the  church  of  the  chief  of  the  apostles,  at  Westminster, 


Writ  for  the  Assessment  of  the  Thirteenth     35 

on  the  2 yth  of  May;  Philip,  bishop  of  Durham,  made  an  appeal 
to  prevent  this  coronation  taking  place  in  the  absence  of  Geoffrey 
archbishop  of  York,  but  did  not  obtain  his  wish.  At  this  corona- 
tion king  John  bound  himself  by  a  triple  oath,  namely,  to  love 
Holy  Church  and  its  ordained  priests,  and  to  preserve  it  harmless 
from  the  attacks  of  evil  designers,  and  to  do  away  with  bad  laws, 
substituting  good  ones  in  their  stead,  and  to  see  justice  rightly 
administered  throughout  England.  He  was  afterwards  adjured 
by  the  same  archbishop  on  behalf  of  God,  and  strictly  forbidden 
to  presume  to  accept  this  honor,  unless  he  purposed  in  his  mind, 
to  fulfil  in  deed,  what  he  had  sworn  to ;  in  reply  to  this  the  king 
promised  that,  by  God's  assistance,  he  would  in  all  good  faith 
keep  the  oath  which  he  had  made.  On  the  following  day,  after 
he  had  received  the  homage  and  fealty  of  his  subjects,  he  went 
to  Saint  Alban's,  the  proto-martyr  of  England,  to  pray ;  and  so, 
making  but  a  very  short  stay  in  England,  he  with  the  advice  of 
the  nobles  duly  settled  everything  that  required  his  attention. 


23.    Writ  for  the  Assessment  of  the  Thirteenth 

(February,  1207.     Latin  text,  Stubbs,   S.    C.   283.      Translation  by  Editors. 
I  Stubbs,  620.) 

HPHE  king  to  all,  etc.  Be  it  known  that  by  the  common 
A  advice  and  assent  of  our  council  at  Oxford  it  was  provided, 
for  the  defence  of  our  realm  and  the  recovery  of  our  right,  and 
granted  that  every  layman  in  all  England,  of  whomsoever  he  may 
hold,  who  has  rents  and  chattels  in  England,  should  give  us  in  aid 
from  every  mark  of  his  annual  revenue,  twelve  pence,  and  from 
every  mark's  worth  of  every  sort  of  movable  chattels  which  he  had 
on  the  octave  of  the  Purification  of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  that  is  at 
the  time  of  the  council,  twelve  pence,  and  thus  in  proportion  more 
or  less.  And  all  the  stewards  and  bailiffs  of  earls  and  barons,  shall 
take  oath  before  our  justices  of  the  value  of  the  rents  and  movable 
chattels  of  their  lords  and  likewise  concerning  their  own.  And 
every  man  except  the  earls  and  barons  shall  take  oath  concerning 
his  own  rents  and  chattels,  according  as  our  justices  despatched 
for  this  purpose  shall  see  to  be  best  suited  to  our  advantage. 
And  if  any  one  shall  have  been  convicted  of  removing  his  chattels 
fraudulently  to  avoid  our  profit,  or  of  concealing  them  in  any 
place,  or  of  putting  them  in  the  power  of  any  one  else,  or  of 
appraising  them  at  less  than  their  value,  all  his  chattels  shall  be 


36  English  Constitutional  Documents 

seised  for  our  use  free  of  claims,  and  he  himself  shall  be  put  in 
our  prison  until  he  shall  be  liberated  by  us.  Moreover,  let  every 
hundred  in  your  county  be  recorded  by  itself  and  each  parish  in 
every  hundred  by  itself,  so  that  our  justices  may  know  how  to 
answer  for  every  vill  by  itself.  Moreover,  when  our  justices  shall 
have  made  the  assessment  of  this  aid  of  ours  in  any  hundred,  city, 
or  vill,  they  shall  immediately  cause  copy  to  be  made  from  their 
rolls  of  all  the  particulars  of  the  aid  assessed,  and  shall  hand  over 
to  the  sheriff  for  the  collection  of  the  aid  noted  in  each  roll  from 
fortnight  to  fortnight,  with  all  speed,  and  our  justices  shall  keep 
their  own  rolls  safely  in  their  possession  until  they  bring  them  to 
us.  It  is  also  decreed  that  all  our  clerks,  and  all  our  justices  and 
their  clerks,  and  all  who  shall  busy  themselves  in  any  of  this  work, 
shall  swear  that  they  will  do  this  work  faithfully  and  with  all  their 
might,  as  it  has  been  set  forth,  and  that  for  nothing  will  they 
neglect  this.  Moreover,  we  command,  upon  penalties  of  life  and 
limb,  that  every  good  penny  of  lawful  weight,  although  it  is  not 
new,  shall  be  accepted  both  for  our  use  and  for  that  of  all  others 
in  our  realm.  Moreover,  for  assessing  this  aid  in  your  county  we 
send,  in  our  stead,  Robert  of  Berkeley,  Richard  of  Mucegros, 
William  of  Falaise,  Master  R.  of  Gloucester,  Walter  of  Aura, 
Adam  Fitz-Nigel,  etc.  And  we  bid  you  to  be  just  as  attentive  to 
them  in  this  as  to  ourselves. 

Witness  myself  at  Northampton,  the  seventeenth  day  of  February. 


24.    Recognitions,  Assizes,  and  the  Jury 

(Latin  originals,  Delisle,  Recueil  de  Jugements  de  VEchiquier  de  Normandie. 
Translation  by  Editors.  Date  and  reference  in  each  case.  Though  the 
first  three  cases  are  from  Normandy,  the  usage  is  exactly  the  same  as  in 
England,  and  they  are  earlier  than  the  Magna  Carta.  The  last  two  are 
from  Maitland's  Bractorts  Note  Book.'} 

i.  EUSTACE  CALLOT,  under  age,  asked  seisin  of  the  land  of 
his  father,  that  is  of  the  manor  of  R.,  of  which  his  father  was 
seised  in  the  year  and  day  on  which  he  died,  of  which  Richard 
Callot  his  uncle  was  disseising  him.  A  recognition  was  made  con- 
cerning this  by  legal  men  and  they  swore  that  Robert  Callot,  his 
father,  was  seised  of  it  at  some  time,  but  they  did  not  know 
whether  he  was  seised  of  it  on  the  day  on  which  he  died  or  not. 
And  so  it  was  judged  that  he  who  was  holding  should  hold,  and 
that  the  right  should  remain  between  them.  Afterwards  the  said 


Recognitions,  Assizes,  and  the  Jury  37 

Eustace  asked  a  recognition  whether  his  father  was  seised  of  the 
said  manor  when  he  married  his  mother  or  not.  But  his  uncle, 
who  was  holding  that  manor,  asked  the  judgment  of  the  king's 
court  whether  there  ought  to  be  taken  another  recognition  con- 
cerning this  than  that  which  the  said  Eustace  had  had  of  the 
seisin  of  his  father.  But  the  bailiff  pointed  this  out  to  lord  Walter 
the  chamberlain  at  Rouen.  But  lord  Walter  was  unwilling  to  make 
judgment  upon  it  at  Rouen,  but  he  postponed  it  to  the  exchequer 
of  the  lord  king  at  Falaise,  and  when  judgment  was  to  be  made 
upon  it  there,  it  was  said  and  testified  by  many  that  the  mother  of 
the  said  Eustace  asked  the  whole  of  the  said  manor  in  dower  in 
the  court  of  the  lord  king,  and  that  she  had  by  agreement  in  the 
court  of  the  lord  king  a  third  part  of  that  manor  in  dower.  And 
so  it  was  judged  that  the  said  Eustace  as  protector  of  that  dower 
should  have  two  parts  of  that  manor,  (p.  13,  1209.) 

2.  Recognition  [recordatio]  between  Matthew  le  V.  and  Andrew 
de  O.  by  [13  names]  who  say  that  they  were  at  a  certain  assize  at 
Grandmesnil  and  saw  and  heard  that  a  certain  inquiry  by  oath  [jury] 
was  made  there  between  the  same  Matthew  and  the  same  Andrew 
concerning  a  certain  land  of  the  fee  of  Grandmesnil,  and  of  the 
seisin  of  W.  de  A.,  uncle  of  the  said  Matthew.    Ten  men  of  those 
who  made  the  inquiry  by  oath  said  that  they  never  saw  the  said 
W.  have  seisin  of  the  said  land,  but  always  they  saw  the  father  of 
the  same  Andrew  and  the  same  Andrew  seised  of  that  land.    Two 
other  men  of  those  who  made  the  inquiry  by  oath  said  that  they 
knew  nothing  about  it.     And  so  the  seisin  of  that  land  was  judged 
in  that  assize  to  the  same  Andrew,  and  it  was  judged  in  that  assize 
that  the  plea  remained  between  them.    It  is  judged  that  the  same 
Andrew  have  seisin  of  that  land,  and  the  said  Matthew  in  mercy 
for  a  false  claim,     (p.  27,  1212.) 

3.  Darrien  Presentment.  —  It  is  judged  that  Alan  de  Av.  have 
seisin  of  the  presentation  of  the  church  of  Av.,  since  Henry  de  AL 
who  disseised  the  same  Alan  of  this  is  unwilling  to  submit  to  a 
recognition  according  to  the  usages  and  customs  of  Normandy  as 
to  who  presented  the  last  parson  deceased  to  that  church,  and  the 
same  Henry  is  in  mercy,     (p.  33,  1213.) 

4.  Navel  Disseisin.  — The  assize  came  to  inquire  [recognitura] 
if  Robert  chaplain  of  Owresby  unjustly  etc.  disseised  Helena  of 
Crosholm  of  her  free  tenement  in  Norton  after  etc.    And  R.  came 
not  nor  was  found  and  so  the  assize  was  taken  by  default.    The 
jurors  say  he  disseised  her  because  R.  made  to  reap  in  the  land  of 
the  same  Helena  and  to  carry  off.   And  so  it  was  judged  that  Helena 
recover  her  seisin  and  R.  be  in  mercy.     (Case  1204,  III.,  p.  217.) 


38  English  Constitutional   Documents 

5.  Mort  <F Ancestor.  —  The  assize  came  to  inquire  if  Simon  son 
of  Thomas,  father  of  Richard  son  of  Simon  who  is  under  age,  was 
seised  in  his  demesne  and  of  fee  of  half  a  virgate  of  land  with 
appurtenances  in  Brinton  on  the  day  on  which  he  died,  etc.,  and 
if  etc.  which  land  Gunnora  of  Brinton  held,  who  came  and  called 
Richard  of  Brinton  to  warrant  it,  who  came  and  warranted  it  to 
her  and  said  .  .  .  And  since  Richard  is  under  age  it  was  judged 
that  he  is  not  able  to  answer  to  this  and  so  the  assize  proceeds. 
The  jurors  say  that  the  said  Simon  died  so  seised  as  the  writ  says 
and  that  Richard  is  next  heir  of  that  same  land  which  Gunnora 
held,  concerning  which  she  called  to  warrant  the  said  Richard, 
whether  there  was  more  or  less  than  half  a  virgate  there.  (Case 
42,  II.,  p.  39.) 


25.    John's  Concession  of  the  Kingdom  to  the 
Pope 

(May,  1213.     Latin  text,  Stubbs,  S.  C.  284.     Translation,  G.  and  H.  75. 
I  Stubbs,  560.) 

JOHN,  by  the  grace  of  God  king  of  England,  lord  of  Ireland, 
duke  of  Normandy  and  Aquitaine,  earl  of  Anjou,  to  all  the 
faithful  in  Christ  who  shall  inspect  this  present  charter,  greet- 
ing. We  will  it  to  be  known  by  all  of  you  by  this  our  charter, 
confirmed  by  our  seal,  that  we,  having  offended  God  and  our 
mother  the  holy  Church  in  many  things,  and  being  on  'that  account 
known  to  need  the  divine  mercy,  and  unable  to  make  any  worthy 
offering  for  the  performance  of  due  satisfaction  to  God  and  the 
Church,  unless  we  humble  ourselves  and  our  realms  —  we,  willing 
to  humble  ourselves  for  him  who  humbled  himself  for  us  even  to 
death,  by  the  inspiration  of  the  Holy  Spirit's  grace  under  no  com- 
pulsion of  force  or  of  fear,  but  of  our  good  and  free  will,  and  by 
the  common  consent  of  our  barons,  offer  and  freely  grant  to  God 
and  His  holy  apostles  Peter  and  Paul,  and  the  holy  Roman 
Church,  our  mother,  and  to  our  lord  the  Pope  Innocent  and  his 
catholic  successors,  the  whole  realm  of  England  and  the  whole 
realm  of  Ireland  with  all  their  rights  and  appurtenances,  for  the 
remission  of  our  sins  and  those  of  all  our  race,  as  well  quick  as 
dead ;  and  from  now  receiving  back  and  holding  these  as  a  feudal 
dependant,  from  God  and  the  Roman  Church,  in  the  presence  of 
the  prudent  man  Pandulf,  subdeacon  and  familiar  of  the  lord  the 
pope,  do  and  swear  fealty  for  them  to  the  aforesaid  our  lord  the 


John's  Concession  of  the  Kingdom  to  the  Pope     39 

Pope  Innocent  and  his  catholic  successors  and  the  Roman  Church, 
according  to  the  form  written  below,  and  will  do  liege  homage  to 
the  same  lord  the  Pope  in  his  presence  if  we  shall  be  able  to  be 
present  before  him ;  binding  our  successors  and  heirs  by  our  wife, 
for  ever,  that  in  like  manner  to  the  supreme  pontiff  for  the  time 
being,  and  to  the  Roman  Church,  they  should  pay  fealty  and 
acknowledge  homage  without  contradiction.  Moreover,  in  proof 
of  this  our  perpetual  obligation  and  grant,  we  will  and  establish 
that  from  the  proper  and  special  revenues  of  our  realms  aforesaid, 
for  all  service  and  custom  that  we  should  render  for  ourselves,  sav- 
ing in  all  respects  the  penny  of  blessed  Peter,  the  Roman  Church 
receive  1000  marks  sterling  each  year,  to  wit  at  the  feast  of  Saint 
Michael  500  marks,  and  at  Blaster  500  marks ;  700  to  wit  for  the 
realm  of  England,  and  300  for  the  realm  of  Ireland ;  saving  to  us 
and  our  heirs,  our  rights,  liberties,  and  royalties.  All  which,  as 
aforesaid,  we  willing  them  to  be  perpetually  ratified  and  confirmed, 
bind  ourselves  and  successors  not  to  contravene.  And  if  we  or 
any  of  our  successors  shall  presume  to  attempt  this,  whoever  he 
be,  unless  he  come  to  amendment  after  due  admonition,  let  him 
forfeit  right  to  the  kingdom,  and  let  this  charter  of  obligation  and 
grant  on  our  part  remain  in  force  for  ever. 

The  Oath  of  Fealty 

I,  John,  by  the  grace  of  God  king  of  England  and  lord  of  Ire- 
land, from  this  hour  forward  will  be  faithful  to  God  and  the  blessed 
Peter  and  the  Roman  Church,  and  my  lord  the  Pope  Innocent 
and  his  successors  following  in  catholic  manner:  I  will  not  be 
party,  in  deed,  word,  consent,  or  counsel,  to  their  losing  life  or 
limb  or  being  unjustly  imprisoned.  Their  damage,  if  I  am  aware 
of  it,  I  will  prevent,  and  will  have  removed  if  I  can  ;  or  else,  as 
soon  as  I  can,  I  will  signify  it,  or  will  tell  such  persons  as  I  shall 
believe  will  tell  them  certainly.  Any  counsel  they  intrust  to  me, 
immediately  or  by  their  messengers  or  their  letter,  I  will  keep 
secret,  and  will  consciously  disclose  to  no  one  to  their  damage. 
The  patrimony  of  blessed  Peter,  and  specially  the  realm  of  Eng- 
land and  the  realm  of  Ireland,  I  will  aid  to  hold  and  defend  against 
all  men  to  my  ability.  So  help  me  God  and  these  holy  gospels. 
Witness  myself  at  the  house  of  the  Knights  of  the  Temple  near 
Dover,  in  the  presence  of  the  lord  H.  Archbishop  of  Dublin ;  .  .  . 
Warren,  son  of  Gerald.  The  isth  day  of  May  in  the  i4th  year  of 
our  reign. 


40  English  Constitutional   Documents 


26.     Writ  of  Summons 

(May,  1213.     Latin  text,  Stubbs,  S.  C.  276.    Translation,  Giles,  Roger  of 
Wendover's  Flowers  of  History,  ii.    274.     I  Stubbs,  565.) 

THE  next  day  the  king  sent  letters  to  all  the  sheriffs  of  the 
kingdom,  ordering  them  to  send  four  liege  men  from  each 
town  in  their  demesnes,  together  with  the  warden,  to  Saint  Alban's 
on  the  fourth  of  August,  that  through  them  and  his  other  agents 
he  might  make  inquiries  about  the  losses  and  confiscated  property 
of  each  of  the  bishops,  and  how  much  was  due  to  each. 


27.     Writ  of  Summons  to  a  Great  Council 

(November,  1213.     Latin  text,  Stubbs,  S.  C.  287.     Translation  by  Editors, 
I  Stubbs,  567,  609.) 

THE  king  to  the  sheriff  of  Oxfordshire,  greeting.  We  direct 
you  to  cause  all  the  knights  of  your  bailiwick,  who  have 
been  summoned  to  appear  before  me  at  Oxford  on  All  Saints' 
Day,  to  come  in  fifteen  days  with  their  arms  ;  but  all  the  barons  to 
come  in  like  manner  unarmed  :  and  that  you  cause  four  discreet 
men  of  your  county  to  meet  us  there  at  the  same  time  to  consult 
with  us  about  the  affairs  of  our  realm. 

Witness  myself  at  Witney,  the  seventh  day  of  November. 
Similar  writs  were  directed  to  all  the  sheriffs. 


28.     Grant  of  Freedom  of  Election  to  Churches 

(November,   1214.     Latin  text,  Stubbs,  S.  C.  288.    Translation,  G.  and  H. 
77.     I  Stubbs,  568.) 

Charter  of  King  John  for  Free  Elections  in  all  England 

JOHN,  by  the  grace  of  God,  king  of  England,  lord  of  Ireland, 
J  duke  of  Normandy  and  Aquitaine,  earl  of  Anjou,  to  the  arch- 
bishops, bishops,  earls,  barons,  knights,  bailiffs,  and  to  all  who 
shall  see  or  hear  these  letters,  greeting.  Since  by  the  grace  of 
God,  of  the  mere  and  free  will  of  both  parties,  there  is  full  agree- 
ment concerning  damages  and  losses  in  the  time  of  the  interdict, 
between  us  and  our  venerable  fathers  Stephen,  archbishop  of  Can- 


Grant  of  Freedom  of  Election  to  Churches     41 

terbury,  primate  of  all  England,  and  Cardinal  of  the  Holy  Roman 
Church  and  Bishops  William  of  London,  Eustace  of  Ely,  Giles  of 
Hereford,  Joscelin  of  Bath  and  Glastonbury,  and  Hugh  of  Lincoln 
—  we  wish  not  only  to  make  satisfaction  to  them,  as  far  as  in  God 
we  can,  but  also  to  make  sound  and  beneficial  provision  for  all  the 
Church  of  England  forever ;  and  so  whatsoever  custom  has  been 
hitherto  observed  in  the  English  Church,  in  our  own  times  and 
those  of  our  predecessors,  and  whatsoever  right  we  have  claimed 
for  ourselves  hitherto  in  the  elections  of  any  prelates,  we  have  at 
their  own  petition,  for  the  health  of  our  soul  and  the  souls  of  our 
predecessors  and  successors  kings  of  England,  freely  of  our  mere 
and  spontaneous  will,  with  the  common  consent  of  our  barons, 
granted  and  constituted,  and  by  this  our  present  charter  have 
confirmed  :  that  henceforth  in  all  and  singular  the  churches  and 
monasteries,  cathedral  and  conventual,  of  all  our  kingdom  of  Eng- 
land, the  elections  of  all  prelates,  whatsoever,  greater  or  less,  be 
free  forever,  saving  to  ourselves  and  our  heirs  the  custody  of 
vacant  churches  and  monasteries  which  belong  to  us.  We  prom- 
ise also  that  we  will  neither  hinder  nor  suffer  nor  procure  to  be 
hindered  by  our  ministers  that  in  all  and  singular  the  churches 
and  monasteries  mentioned,  after  the  prelacies  are  vacant,  the 
electors  should,  whenever  they  will,  freely  set  a  pastor  over  them, 
yet  so  that  leave  to  elect  be  first  asked  of  us  and  our  heirs,  which 
we  will  not  deny  nor  defer.  And  if  by  chance,  which  God  forbid, 
we  should  deny  or  defer,  let  the  electors,  none  the  less,  proceed 
to  make  canonical  election ;  and  likewise,  after  the  election  is 
concluded,  let  our  assent  be  demanded,  which  in  like  manner  we 
will  not  deny,  unless  we  put  forth  some  reasonable  excuse  and 
lawfully  prove  it,  by  reason  of  which  we  should  not  consent. 
Wherefore  we  will  and  firmly  forbid  that  when  churches  or 
monasteries  are  vacant,  any  one  in  anything  proceed  or  presume  to 
proceed  in  opposition  to  this  our  charter.  But  if  any  do  ever  at 
any  time  proceed  in  opposition  to  it,  let  him  incur  the  curse  of 
Almighty  God  and  our  own.  These  being  witnesses :  Peter, 
bishop  of  Winchester,  .  .  .  William  of  Huntingfield.  Given  by 
the  hand  of  Master  Richard  de  Marisco,  our  Chancellor,  at  the 
new  Temple  in  London,  on  the  2ist  day  of  November  in  the  i6th 
year  of  our  reign. 


42  English  Constitutional   Documents 

29.     Great  Charter  of  Liberties 

(June,   1215.      Latin    text,  Stubbs,   S.    C.   296.      Translation,   Cheyney,   6. 
I  Stubbs,  569.) 

JOHN,  by  the  grace  of  God,  king  of  England,  lord  of  Ireland, 
duke  of  Normandy  and  Aquitaine,  count  of  Anjou,  to  the 
archbishops,  bishops,  abbots,  earls,  barons,  justiciars,  foresters, 
sheriffs,  reeves,  servants,  and  all  bailiffs  and  his  faithful  people 
greeting.  Know  that  by  the  suggestion  of  God  and  for  the  good 
of  our  soul  and  those  of  all  our  predecessors  and  of  our  heirs,  to 
the  honor  of  God  and  the  exaltation  of  holy  church,  and  the 
improvement  of  our  kingdom,  by  the  advice  of  our  venerable 
fathers  Stephen,  archbishop  of  Canterbury,  primate  of  all  Eng- 
land and  Cardinal  of  the  Holy  Roman  Church,  Henry,  archbishop 
of  Dublin,  William  of  London,  Peter  of  Winchester,  Joscelyn  of 
Bath  and  Glastonbury,  Hugh  of  Lincoln,  Walter  of  Worcester, 
William  of  Coventry,  and  Benedict  of  Rochester,  bishops ;  of 
Master  Pandulf,  subdeacon  and  member  of  the  household  of  the 
lord  Pope,  of  Brother  Aymeric,  master  of  the  Knights  of  the 
Temple  in  England  ;  and  of  the  noblemen  William  Marshall,  earl 
of  Pembroke,  William,  earl  of  Salisbury,  William,  earl  Warren, 
William,  earl  of  Arundel,  Alan  of  Galloway,  constable  of  Scotland, 
Warren  Fitz-Gerald,  Peter  Fitz-Herbert,  Hubert  de  Burgh,  senes- 
chal of  Poitou,  Hugh  de  Nevil,  Matthew  Fitz-Herbert,  Thomas 
Bassett,  Alan  Bassett,  Philip  d'Albini,  Robert  de  Ropesle,  John 
Marshall,  John  Fitz-Hugh,  and  others  of  our  faithful. 

1.  In  the  first  place  we  have  granted  to  God,  and  by  this  our 
present  charter  confirmed,  for  us  and  our  heirs  forever,  that  the 
English  church  shall  be  free,  and  shall  hold  its  rights  entire  and 
its  liberties  uninjured  ;  and  we  will  that  it  thus  be  observed  ;  which 
is  shown  by  this,  that  the  freedom  of  elections,  which  is  consid- 
ered to  be  most  important  and  especially  necessary  to  the  English 
church,  we,  of  our  pure  and  spontaneous  will,  granted,  and  by  our 
charter  confirmed,  before  the  contest  between  us  and  our  barons 
had  arisen ;  and  obtained  a  confirmation  of  it  by  the  lord  Pope 
Innocent  III. ;  which  we  will  observe  and  which  we  will  shall  be 
observed  in  good  faith  by  our  heirs  forever. 

We  have  granted  moreover  to  all  free  men  of  our  kingdom  for 
us  and  our  heirs  forever  all  the  liberties  written  below,  to  be  had 
and  holden  by  themselves  and  their  heirs  from  us  and  our  heirs. 

2.  If  any  of  our  earls  or  barons,  or  others  holding  from  us  in 
chief  by  military  service  shall  have  died,  and  when  he  has  died 


Great  Charter  of  Liberties  43 

his  heir  shall  be  of  full  age  and  owe  relief,  he  shall  have  his  inherit- 
ance  by  the  ancient  relief ;  that  is  to  say,  the  heir  or  heirs  of  an 
earl  for  the  whole  barony  of  an  earl  a  hundred  pounds ;  the  heir 
or  heirs  of  a  baron  for  a  whole  barony  a  hundred  pounds ;  the 
heir  or  heirs  of  a  knight,  for  a  whole  knight's  fee,  a  hundred  shil- 
lings at  most ;  and  who  owes  less  let  him  give  less  according  to 
the  ancient  custom  of  fiefs. 

3.  If  moreover  the  heir  of  any  one  of  such  shall  be  under  age, 
and  shall  be  in  wardship,  when  he  comes  of  age  he  shall  have  his 
inheritance  without  relief  and  without  a  fine. 

4.  The  custodian  of  the  land  of  such  a  minor  heir  shall  not 
take  from  the  land  of  the  heir  any  except  reasonable  products, 
reasonable  customary  payments,  and  reasonable  services,  and  this 
without  destruction  or  waste  of  men  or  of  property ;  and  if  we 
shall  have  committed  the  custody  of  the  land  of  any  such  a  one 
to  the  sheriff  or  to  any  other  who  is  to  be  responsible  to  us  for  its 
proceeds,  and  that  man  shall  have  caused  destruction  or  waste 
from  his  custody  we  will  recover  damages  from  him,  and  the  land 
shall  be  committed  to  two  legal  and  discreet  men  of  that  fief,  who 
shall  be  responsible  for  its  proceeds  to  us  or  to  him  to  whom  we 
have  assigned  them ;  and  if  we  shall  have  given  or  sold  to  any 
one  the  custody  of  any  such  land,  and  he  has  caused  destruction 
or  waste  there,  he  shall  lose  that  custody,  and  it  shall  be  handed 
over  to  two  legal  and  discreet  men  of  that  fief  who  shall  be  in  like 
manner  responsible  to  us  as  is  said  above. 

5.  The  custodian  moreover,  so  long  as  he  shall  have  the  cus- 
tody of  the  land,  must  keep  up  the  houses,  parks,  warrens,  fish 
ponds,  mills,  and  other  things  pertaining  to  the  land,  from  khe  pro- 
ceeds of  the  land  itself;  and  he  must  return  to  the  heir,  when  he 
has  come  to  full  age,  all  his  land,  furnished  with  ploughs  and  imple- 
ments of  husbandry  according  as  the  time  of  wainage  requires  and 
as  the  proceeds  of  the  land  are  able  reasonably  to  sustain. 

6.  Heirs  shall  be  married  without  disparity,  so  nevertheless 
that  before  the  marriage  is  contracted,  it  shall  be  announced  to 
the  relatives  by  blood  of  the  heir  himself. 

7.  A  widow,  after  the  death  of  her  husband,  shall  have  her 
marriage  portion  and  her  inheritance  immediately  and  without 
obstruction,  nor  shall  she  give  anything  for  her  dowry  or  for  her 
marriage  portion,  or  for   her   inheritance  which  inheritance  her 
husband  and  she  held  on'  the  day  of  the  death  of  her  husband ; 
and  she  may  remain  in  the  house  of  her  husband  for  forty  days 
after  his  death,  within  which  time  her  dowry  shall  be  assigned  to 
her. 


44  English  Constitutional   Documents 

8.  No  widow  shall  be  compelled  to  marry  so  long  as  she  pre- 
fers to  live  without  a  husband,  provided  she  gives  security  that  she 
will  not  marry  without  our  consent,  if  she  holds  from  us,  or  without 
the  consent  of  her  lord  from  whom  she  holds,  if  she  holds  from 
another. 

9.  Neither  we  nor  our  bailiffs  will  seise  any  land  or  rent,  for  any 
debt,  so  long  as  the  chattels  of  the  debtor  are  sufficient  for  the  pay- 
ment of  the  debt ;  nor  shall  the  pledges  of  a  debtor  be  distrained 
so  long  as  the  principal  debtor  himself  has  enough  for  the  payment 
of  the  debt ;  and  if  the  principal  debtor  fails  in  the  payment  of  the 
debt,  not  having  the  wherewithal  to  pay  it,  the  pledges  shall  be 
responsible  for  the  debt ;  and  if  they  wish,  they  shall  have  the 
lands  and  the  rents  of  the  debtor  until  they  shall  have  been  satis- 
fied for  the  debt  which  they  have  before  paid  for  him,  unless  the 
principal  debtor  shall  have  shown  himself  to  be  quit  in  that  respect 
towards  those  pledges. 

10.  If  any  one  has  taken  anything  from  the  Jews,  by  way  of  a 
loan,  more  or  less,  and  dies  before  that  debt  is  paid,  the  debt  shall 
not  draw  interest  so  long  as  the  heir  is  under  age,  from  whomso- 
ever he  holds ;  and  if  that  debt  falls  into  our  hands,  we  will  take 
nothing  except  the  chattel  contained  in  the  agreement. 

1 1 .  And  if  any  one  dies  leaving  a  debt  owing  to  the  Jews,  his  wife 
shall  have  her  dowry,  and  shall  pay  nothing  of  that  debt ;  and  if 
there  remain  minor  children  of  the  dead  man,  necessaries  shall  be 
provided  for  them  corresponding  to  the  holding  of  the  dead  man ; 
and  from  the  remainder  shall  be  paid  the  debt,  saving  the  service 
of  the  lords.     In  the  same  way  debts  are  to  be  treated  which  are 
owed  to  others  than  the  Jews. 

12.  No  scutage  or  aid  shall  be  imposed  in  our  kingdom  except 
by  the  common  council  of  our  kingdom,  except  for  the  ransoming 
of  our  body,  for  the  making  of  our  oldest  son  a  knight,  and  for 
once  marrying  our  oldest  daughter,  and  for  these  purposes  it  shall 
be  only  a  reasonable  aid ;  in  the  same  way  it  shall  be  done  con- 
cerning the  aids  of  the  city  of  London. 

13.  And  the  city  of  London  shall  have  all  its  ancient  liberties 
and  free  customs,  as  well  by  land  as  by  water.     Moreover,  we  will 
and  grant  that  all  other  cities  and  boroughs  and  villages  and  ports 
shall  have  all  their  liberties  and  free  customs. 

14.  And  for  holding  a  common  council  of  the  kingdom  con- 
cerning the  assessment  of  an  aid  otherwise  than  in  the  three  cases 
mentioned  above,  or  concerning  the  assessment  of  a  scutage  we 
shall  cause  to  be  summoned  the  archbishops,  bishops,  abbots,  earls, 
and  greater  barons  by  our  letters  individually  ;  and  besides  we  shall 


Great  Charter  of  Liberties  45 

cause  to  be  summoned  generally,  by  our  sheriffs  and  bailiffs  all 
those  who  hold  from  us  in  chief,  for  a  certain  day,  that  is  at  the 
end  of  forty  days  at  least,  and  for  a  certain  place ;  and  in  all  the 
letters  of  that  summons,  we  will  express  the  cause  of  the  summons, 
and  when  the  summons  has  thus  been  given  the  business  shall  pro- 
ceed on  the  appointed  day,  on  the  advice  of  those  who  shall  be 
present,  even  if  not  all  of  those  who  were  summoned  have  come. 

15.  We  will  not  grant  to  anyone,  moreover,  that  he  shall  take 
an  aid  from  his  free  men,  except  for  ransoming  his  body,  for  making 
his  oldest  son  a  knight,  and  for  once  marrying  his  oldest  daughter ; 
and  for  these  purposes  only  a  reasonable  aid  shall  be  taken. 

1 6.  No  one  shall  be  compelled  to  perform  any  greater  service 
for  a  knight's  fee,  or  for  any  other  free  tenement  than  is  owed 
from  it. 

1 7.  The  common  pleas  shall  not  follow  our  court,  but  shall  be 
held  in  some  certain  place. 

1 8.  The  recognition  of  novel  disseisin,  mort  f  ancestor,  and  dar- 
rein  presentment  shall  be  held  only  in  their  own  counties  and  in 
this  manner  j  we,  or  if  we  are  outside  of  the  kingdom  our  principal 
justiciar,  will  send  two  justiciars  through  each  county  four  times  a 
year,  who  with  four  knights  of  each  county,  elected  by  the  county, 
shall  hold  in  the  county,  and  on  the  day  and  in  the  place  of  the 
county  court,  the  aforesaid  assizes  of  the  county. 

19.  And  if  the  aforesaid  assizes  cannot  be  held  within  the  day 
of  the  county  court,  a  sufficient  number  of  knights  and  free-holders 
shall  remain  from  those  who  were  present  at  the  county  court  on 
that  day  to  give  the  judgments,  according  as  the  business  is  more 
or  less. 

20.  A  free  man  shall  not  be  fined  for  a  small  offence,  except  in 
proportion  to  the  measure  of  the  offence ;  and  for  a  great  offence 
he  shall  be  fined  in  proportion  to  the  magnitude  of  the  offence, 
saving  his  freehold ;  and  a  merchant  in  the  same  way,  saving  his 
merchandise ;  and  the  villain  shall  be  fined  in  the  same  way,  sav- 
ing his  wainage,  if  he  shall  be  at  our  mercy ;  and  none  of  the 
above  fines  shall  be  imposed  except  by  the  oaths  of  honest  men 
of  the  neighborhood. 

21.  Earls  and  barons  shall  only  be  fined  by  their  peers,  and 
only  in  proportion  to  their  offence. 

22.  A  clergyman  shall  be  fined,  like  those  before  mentioned, 
only  in  proportion  to  his  lay  holding,  and  not  according  to  the 
extent  of  his  ecclesiastical  benefice. 

23.  No  vill  or  man  shall  be  compelled  to  make  bridges  over  the 
rivers  except  those  which  ought  to  do  it  of  old  and  rightfully. 


46  English  Constitutional  Documents 

24.  No  sheriff,  constable,  coroners,  or  other  bailiffs  of  ours  shall 
hold  pleas  of  our  crown. 

25.  All  counties,  hundreds,  wapentakes,  and  trithings  shall  be 
at   the   ancient  rents   and  without  any  increase,  excepting   our 
demesne  manors. 

26.  If  any  person  holding  a  lay  fief  from  us  shall  die,  and  our 
sheriff  or  bailiff  shall  show  our  letters-patent  of  our  summons  con- 
cerning a  debt  which  the  deceased  owed  to  us,  it  shall  be  lawful 
for  our  sheriff  or  bailiff  to  attach  and  levy  on  the  chattels  of  the 
deceased  found  on  his  lay  fief,  to  the  value  of  that  debt,  in  the 
view  of  legal  men,  so  nevertheless  that  nothing  be  removed  thence 
until  the  clear  debt  to  us  shall  be  paid ;  and  the  remainder  shall 
be  left  to  the  executors  for  the  fulfilment  of  the  will  of  the  de- 
ceased ;  and  if  nothing  is  owed  to  us  by  him,  all  the  chattels  shall 
go  to  the  deceased,  saving  to  his  wife  and  children  their  reason- 
able shares. 

27.  If  any  free  man  dies  intestate,  his  chattels  shall  be  dis- 
tributed by  the  hands  of  his  near  relatives  and  friends,  under  the 
oversight  of  the  church,  saving  to  each  one  the  debts  which  the 
deceased  owed  to  him. 

28.  No  constable  or  other  bailiff  of  ours  shall  take  any  one's 
grain  or  other  chattels,  without  immediately  paying  for  them  in 
money,  unless  he  is  able  to  obtain  a  postponement  at  the  good- 
will of  the  seller. 

29.  No  constable  shall  require  any  knight  to  give  money  in 
place  of  his  ward  of  a  castle  if  he  is  willing  to  furnish  that  ward  in 
his  own  person  or  through  another  honest  man,  if  he  himself  is 
not  able  to  do  it  for  a  reasonable  cause ;  and  if  we  shall  lead  or 
send  him  into  the  army  he  shall  be  free  from  ward  in  proportion 
to  the  amount  of  time  during  which  he  has  been  in  the  army 
through  us. 

30.  No  sheriff  or  bailiff  of  ours  or  any  one  else  shall  take  horses 
or  wagons  of  any  free  man  for  carrying  purposes  except  on  the 
permission  of  that  free  man. 

31.  Neither  we  nor  our  bailiffs  will  take  the  wood  of  another 
man  for  castles,  or  for  anything  else  which  we  are  doing,  except 
by  the  permission  of  him  to  whom  the  wood  belongs. 

32.  We  will  not  hold  the  lands  of  those  convicted  of  a  felony 
for  more  than  a  year  and  a  day,  after  which  the  lands  shall  be 
returned  to  the  lords  of  the  fiefs. 

33.  All  the  fish-weirs  in  the  Thames  and  the  Medway,  and 
throughout  all  England  shall  be  done  away  with,  except  those  on 
the  coast. 


Great  Charter  of  Liberties  47 

34.  The  writ  which  is  called  prcecipe  shall  not  be  given  for  the 
future  to  any  one  concerning  any  tenement  by  which  a  free  man 
can  lose  his  court. 

35.  There  shall  be  one  measure  of  wine  throughout  our  whole 
kingdom,  and  one  measure  of  ale,  and  one  measure  of  grain,  that 
is  the  London  quarter,  and  one  width  of  dyed  cloth  and  of  russets 
and  of  halbergets,  that  is  two  ells  within  the  selvages ;  of  weights, 
moreover  it  shall  be  as  of  measures. 

36.  Nothing  shall  henceforth  be  given  or  taken  for  a  writ  of 
inquisition  concerning  life  or  limbs,  but  it  shall  be  given  freely 
and  not  denied. 

37.  If  any  one  holds  from  us  by  fee  farm  or  by  socage  or  by 
burgage,  and  from  another  he  holds  land  by  military  service,  we 
will  not  have  the  guardianship  of  the  heir  or  of  his  land  which  is 
of  the  fief  of  another,  on  account  of  that  fee  farm,  or  socage,  or 
burgage  ;  nor  will  we  have  the  custody  of  that  fee  farm,  or  soc- 
age, or  burgage,  unless  that  fee  farm  itself  owes  military  service. 
We  will  not  have  the  guardianship  of  the  heir  or  of  the  land  of 
any  one,  which  he  holds  from  another  by  military  service  on  account 
of  any  petty  serjeanty  which  he  holds  from  us  by  the  service  of 
paying  to  us  knives  or  arrows,  or  things  of  that  kind. 

38.  No  bailiff  for  the  future  shall  put  any  one  to  his  law  on 
his  simple  affirmation,  without  credible  witnesses  brought  for  this 
purpose. 

39.  No  free  man  shall  be  taken  or  imprisoned  or  dispossessed, 
or  outlawed,  or  banished,  or  in  any  way  destroyed,  nor  will  we  go 
upon  him,  nor  send  upon  him,  except  by  the  legal  judgment  of  his 
peers  or  by  the  law  of  the  land. 

40.  To  no  one  will  we  sell,  to  no  one  will  we  deny,  or  delay 
right  or  justice. 

41.  All  merchants  shall  be  safe  and  secure  in  going  out  from 
England  and  coming  into  England  and  in  remaining  and  going 
through  England,  as  well  by  land  as  by  water,  for  buying  and  sell- 
ing, free  from  all  evil  tolls,  by  the  ancient  and  rightful  customs, 
except  in  time  of  war,  and  if  they  are  of  a  land  at  war  with  us ; 
and  if  such  are  found  in  our  land  at  the  beginning  of  war,  they 
shall  be  attached  without  injury  to  their  bodies  or  goods,  until  it 
shall  be  known  from  us  or  from  our  principal  justiciar  in  what  way 
the  merchants  of  our  land  are  treated  who  shall  be  then  found  in 
the  country  which  is  at  war  with  us  ;  and  if  ours  are  safe  there,  the 
others  shall  be  safe  in  our  land. 

42.  It  is  allowed  henceforth  to  any  one  to  go  out  from  our 
kingdom,  and  to  return,  safely  and  securely,  by  land  and  by  water, 


48  English  Constitutional  Documents 

saving  their  fidelity  to  us,  except  in  time  of  war  for  some  short 
time,  for  the  common  good  of  the  kingdom  ;  excepting  persons 
imprisoned  and  outlawed  according  to  the  law  of  the  realm,  and 
people  of  a  land  at  war  with  us,  and  merchants,  of  whom  it  shall 
be  done  as  is  before  said. 

43.  If  any  one  holds  from  any  escheat,  as  from  the  honor  of 
Wallingford,  or  Nottingham,  or  Boulogne,  or  Lancaster,  or  from 
other  escheats  which  are  in  our  hands  and  are  baronies,  and  he 
dies,  his  heir  shall  not  give  any  other  relief,  nor  do  to  us  any  other 
service  than  he  would  do  to  the  baron,  if  that  barony  was  in  the 
hands  of  the  baron ;  and  we  will  hold  it  in  the  same  way  as  the 
baron  held  it. 

44.  Men  who  dwell  outside  the  forest   shall  not   henceforth 
come  before  our  justiciars  of  the  forest,  on  common  summons, 
unless  they  are  in  a  plea  of,  or  pledges  for  any  person  or  persons 
who  are  arrested  on  account  of  the  forest. 

45.  We  will  not  make  justiciars,  constables,  sheriffs  or  bailiffs 
except  of  such  as  know  the  law  of  the  realm  and  are  well  inclined 
to  observe  it. 

46.  All  barons  who  have  founded  abbeys  for  which  they  have 
charters  of  kings  of  England,  or  ancient  tenure,  shall  have  their 
custody  when  they  have  become  vacant,  as  they  ought  to  have. 

47.  All  forests  which  have  been  afforested  in  our  time  shall  be 
disafforested  immediately ;   and  so  it  shall  be  concerning  river 
banks  which  in  our  time  have  been  fenced  in. 

48.  All  the  bad  customs  concerning  forests  and  warrens  and 
concerning  foresters  and  warreners,  sheriffs  and  their   servants, 
river  banks  and  their  guardians  shall  be  inquired  into  immediately 
in  each  county  by  twelve  sworn  knights  of  the  same  county,  who 
shall  be  elected  by  the  honest  men  of  the  same  county,  and  within 
forty  days  after  the  inquisition  has  been  made,  they  shall  be  entirely 
destroyed  by  them,  never  to  be  restored,  provided  that  we  be  first 
informed  of  it,  or  our  justiciar,  if  we  are  not  in  England. 

49.  We  will  give  back  immediately  all  hostages  and  charters 
which  have  been  liberated  to  us  by  Englishmen  as  security  for 
peace  or  for  faithful  service. 

50.  We  will  remove  absolutely  from  their  bailiwicks  the  rela- 
tives of  Gerard  de  Athyes,  so, that  for  the  future  they  shall  have 
no  bailiwick  in   England;    Engelard  de  Cygony,  Andrew,  Peter 
and  Gyon  de  Chancelles,  Gyon  de  Cygony,  Geoffrey  de  Martin 
and  his  brothers,  Philip  Mark  and  his  brothers,  and  Geoffrey  his 
nephew  and  their  whole  retinue. 

51.  And  immediately  after  the   reestablishment  of  peace  we 


Great  Charter  of  Liberties  49 

will  remove  from  the  kingdom  all  foreign-born  soldiers,  cross-bow 
men,  Serjeants,  and  mercenaries  who  have  come  with  horses  and 
arms  for  the  injury  of  the  realm. 

52.  If  any  one  shall  have  been  dispossessed  or  removed  by  us 
without  legal  judgment  of  his  peers,  from  his  lands,  castles,  fran- 
chises, or  his  right  we  will  restore  them  to  him  immediately ;  and 
if  contention  arises  about  this,  then  it  shall  be  done  according  to 
the  judgment  of  the  twenty-five  barons,  of  whom  mention  is  made 
below  concerning  the  security  of  the  peace.     Concerning  all  those 
things,  however,  from  which  any  one  has  been  removed  or  of  which 
he  has  been  deprived  without  legal  judgment  of  his  peers  by  King 
Henry  our  father,  or  by  King  Richard  our  brother,  which  we  have 
in  our  hand,  or  which  others  hold,  and  which  it  is  our  duty  to 
guarantee,  we  shall  have  respite  till  the  usual  term  of  crusaders ; 
excepting  those  things  about  which  the  suit  has  been  begun  or  the 
inquisition  made  by  our  writ  before  our  assumption  of  the  cross ; 
when,  however,  we  shall  return  from  our  journey  or  if  by  chance 
we  desist  from  the  journey,  we  will  immediately  show  full  justice 
in  regard  to  them. 

53.  We  shall,  moreover,  have  the  same  respite  and  in  the  same 
manner  about  showing  justice  in  regard  to  the  forests  which  are  to 
be  disafforested  or  to  remain  forests,  which  Henry  our  father  or 
Richard  our  brother  made  into  forests;  and  concerning  the  cus- 
tody of  lands  which  are  in  the  fief  of  another,  custody  of  which  we 
have  until  now  had  on  account  of  a  fief  which  any  one  has  held  from 
us  by  military  service ;  and  concerning  the  abbeys  which  have  been 
founded  in  fiefs  of  others  than  ourselves,  in  which  the  lord  of  the 
fee  has  asserted  for  himself  a  right ;  and  when  we  return  or  if  we 
should  desist  from  our  journey  we  will  immediately  show  full  jus- 
tice to  those  complaining  in  regard  to  them. 

54.  No  one  shall  be  seised  nor  imprisoned  on  the  appeal  of  a 
woman  concerning  the  death  of  any  one  except  her  husband. 

55.  All  fines  which  have  been  imposed  unjustly  and  against  the 
law  of  the  land,  and  all  penalties  imposed  unjustly  and  against  the 
law  of  the  land  are  altogether  excused,  or  will  be  on  the  judgment 
of  the  twenty-five  barons  of  whom  mention  is  made  below  in  con- 
nection with  the  security  of  the  peace,  or  on  the  judgment  of  the 
majority  of  them,  along  with  the  aforesaid  Stephen,  archbishop  of 
Canterbury,  if  he  is  able  to  be  present,  and  others  whom  he  may 
wish  to  call  for  this  purpose  along  with  him.     And  if  he  should 
not  be  able  to  be  present,  nevertheless  the  business  shall  go  on 
without  him,  provided  that  if  any  one  or  more  of  the  aforesaid 
twenty-five  barons  are  in  a  similar  suit  they  should  be  removed  as 

t 


50  English  Constitutional  Documents 

far  as  this  particular  judgment  goes,  and  others  who  shall  be  chosen 
and  put  upon  oath,  by  the  remainder  of  the  twenty-five  shall  be 
substituted  for  them  for  this  purpose. 

56.  If  we  have  dispossessed  or  removed  any  Welshmen  from 
their  lands,  or  franchises,  or  other  things,  without  legal  judgment 
of  their  peers,  in  England,  or  in  Wales,  they  shall  be  immediately 
returned  to  them  ;  and  if  a  dispute  shall  have  arisen  over  this,  then 
it  shall  be  settled  in  the  borderland  by  judgment  of  their  peers, 
concerning  holdings  of  England  according  to  the  law  of  England, 
concerning   holdings  of  Wales   according   to  the  law  of  Wales, 
and  concerning  holdings  of  the  borderland  according  to  the  law 
of  the  borderland.     The  Welsh  shall  do  the  same  to  us  and  ours. 

57.  Concerning  all  those  things,  however,  from  which  any  one  of 
the  Welsh  shall  have  been  removed  or  dispossessed  without  legal 
judgment  of  his  peers,  by  King  Henry  our  father,  or  King  Richard 
our  brother,  which  we  hold  incur  hands,  or  which  others  hold,  and 
we  are  bound  to  warrant  to  them,  we  shall  have  respite  till  the 
usual  period  of  crusaders,  those  being  excepted  about  which  suit 
was  begun  or  inquisition  made  by  our  command  before  our  assump- 
tion of  the  cross.    When,  however,  we  shall  return  or  if  by  chance 
we  shall  desist  from  our  journey,  we  will  show  full  justice  to  them 
immediately,  according  to  the  laws  of  the  Welsh  and  the  afore- 
said parts. 

58.  We  will  give  back  the  son  of  Lewellyn  immediately,  and  all 
the  hostages  from  Wales  and  the  charters  which  had  been  liber- 
ated to  us  as  a  security  for  peace. 

59.  We  will  act  toward  Alexander,  king  of  the  Scots,  concern- 
ing the  return  of  his  sisters  and  his  hostages,  and  concerning  his 
franchises  and  his  right,  according  to  the  manner  in  which  we  shall 
act  toward  our  other  barons  of  England,  unless  it  ought  to  be 
otherwise  by  the  charters  which  we  hold  from  William  his  father, 
formerly  king  of  the  Scots,  and  this  shall  be  by  the  judgment  of  his 
peers  in  our  court. 

60.  Moreover,  all  those  customs  and  franchises  mentioned  above 
which  we  have  conceded  in  our  kingdom,  and  which  are  to  be  ful- 
filled, as  far  as  pertains  to  us,  in  respect  to  our  men ;  all  men  of 
our  kingdom  as  well  clergy  as  laymen,  shall  observe  as  far  as  per- 
tains to  them,  in  respect  to  their  men. 

61. .  Since,  moreover,  for  the  sake  of  God,  and  for  the  improve- 
ment of  our  kingdom,  and  for  the  better  quieting  of  the  hostility 
sprung  up  lately  between  us  and  our  barons,  we  have  made  all 
these  concessions  ;  wishing  them  to  enjoy  these  in  a  complete  and 
firm  stability  forever,  we  make  and  concede  to  them  the  security 


Great  Charter  of  Liberties 


described  below  ;  that  is  to  say,  that  they  shall  elect  twenty-five 
barons  of  the  kingdom,  whom  they  will,  who  ought  with  all  their 
power  to  observe,  hold,  and  cause  to  be  observed,  the  peace  and 
liberties  which  we  have  conceded  to  them,  and  by  this  our  present 
charter  confirmed  to  them  ;  in  this  manner,  that  if  we  or  our  jus- 
ticiar,  or  our  bailiffs,  or  any  one  of  our  servants  shall  have  done 
wrong  in  any  way  toward  any  one,  or  shall  have  transgressed  any 
of  the  articles  of  peace  or  security;  and  the  wrong  shall  have 
been  shown  to  four  barons  of  the  aforesaid  twenty-five  barons,  let 
those  four  barons  come  to  us  or  to  our  justiciar,  if  we  are  out  of 
the  kingdom,  laying  before  us  the  transgression,  and  let  them  ask 
that  we  cause  that  transgression  to  be  corrected  without  delay. 
And  if  we  shall  not  have  corrected  the  transgression  or,  if  we  shall 
be  out  of  the  kingdom,  if  our  justiciar  shall  not  have  corrected  it 
within  a  period  of  forty  days,  counting  from  the  time  in  which  it 
has  been  shown  to  us  or  to  our  justiciar,  if  we  are  out  of  the  king- 
dom ;  the  aforesaid  four  barons  shall  refer  the  matter  to  the  re- 
mainder of  the  twenty-five  barons,  and  let  these  twenty-five  barons 
with  the  whole  community  of  the  country  distress  and  injure  us  in 
ever)'  way  they  can;  that  is  to  say  by  the  seizure  of  our  castles, 
lands,  possessions,  and  in  such  other  ways  as  they  can  until  it 
shall  have  been  corrected  according  to  their  judgment,  saving  our 
person  and  that  of  our  queen,  and  those  of  our  children  ;  and 
when  the  correction  has  been  made,  let  them  devote  themselves 
to  us  as  they  did  before.  And  let  whoever  hi  the  country  wishes 
take  an  oath  that  in  all  the  above-mentioned  measures  he  will  obey 
the  orders  of  the  aforesaid  twenty-five  barons,  and  that  he  will  in- 
jure us  as  far  as  he  is  able  with  them,  and  we  give  permission  to 
swear  publicly  and  freely  to  each  one  who  wishes  to  swear,  and  no  one 
will  we  ever  forbid  to  swear.  All  those,  moreover,  in  the  country  who 
of  themselves  and  their  own  will  are  unwilling  to  take  an  oath  to  the 
twenty-five  barons  as  to  distressing  and  injuring  us  along  with  them, 
we  will  compel  to  take  the  oath  by  our  mandate,  as  before  said.  And 
if  any  one  of  the  twenty-  five  barons  shall  have  died  or  departed  from 
the  land  or  shall  in  any  other  way  be  prevented  from  taking  the 
above-mentioned  action,  let  the  remainder  of  the  aforesaid  twenty- 
five  barons  choose  another  in  his  place,  according  to  their  judg- 
ment, who  shall  take  an  oath  in  the  same  way  as  the  others.  In 
all  those  things,  moreover,  which  are  committed  to  those  five  and 
twenty  barons  to  carry  out,  if  perhaps  the  twenty-five  are  present, 
and  some  disagreement  arises  among  them  about  something,  or  if 
any  of  them  when  they  have  been  summoned  are  not  willing  or 
are  not  able  to  be  present,  let  that  be  considered  valid  and  firm 


52  English  Constitutional  Documents 

which  the  greater  part  of  those  who  are  present  arrange  or  com- 
mand, just  as  if  the  whole  twenty-five  had  agreed  in  this ;  and  let 
the  aforesaid  twenty-five  swear  that  they  will  observe  faithfully  all 
the  things  which  are  said  above,  and  with  all  their  ability  cause 
them  to  be  observed.  And  we  will  obtain  nothing  from  any  one, 
either  by  ourselves  or  by  another  by  which  any  of  these  conces- 
sions and  liberties  shall  be  revoked  or  diminished ;  and  if  any 
such  thing  shall  have  been  obtained,  let  it  be  invalid  and  void,  and 
we  will  never  use  it  by  ourselves  or  by  another. 

62.  And  all  ill-will,  grudges,  and  anger  sprung  up  between  us 
and  our  men,  clergy  and  laymen,  from  the  time  of  the  dispute,  we 
have  fully  renounced  and  pardoned  to  all.     Moreover,  all  trans- 
gressions committed  on  account  of  this  dispute,  from  Easter  in 
the  sixteenth  year  of  our  reign  till  the  restoration  of  peace,  we 
have  fully  remitted  to  all,  clergy  and  laymen,  and  as  far  as  per- 
tains to  us,  fully  pardoned.      And  moreover  we  have  caused  to 
be  made   for  them   testimonial   letters-patent  of  lord   Stephen, 
archbishop  of  Canterbury,  lord  Henry,  archbishop  of  Dublin,  and 
of  the  aforesaid  bishops  and  of  Master  Pandulf,  in  respect  to  that 
security  and  the  concessions  named  above. 

63.  Wherefore  we  will  and  firmly  command  that  the  Church  of 
England  shall  be  free,  and  that  the  men  in  our  kingdom  shall 
have  and  hold  all  the  aforesaid  liberties,  rights  and  concessions, 
well  and  peacefully,  freely  and  quietly,  fully  and  completely,  for 
themselves  and  their  heirs,  from  us  and  our  heirs,  in  all  things 
and  places,  forever,  as  before  said.     It  has  been  sworn,  moreover, 
as  well  on  our  part  as  on  the  part  of  the  barons,  that  all  these 
things  spoken  of  above  shall  be  observed  in  good  faith  and  without 
any  evil   intent.      Witness   the  above  named  and   many  others. 
Given  by  our  hand  in  the  meadow  which  is  called  Runnymede, 
between  Windsor  and  Staines,  on  the  fifteenth  day  of  June,  in 
the  seventeenth  year  of  our  reign. 


30.    Writ  for  the  Collection  of  a  Carrucage 

(August,    1220.      Latin   text,   Stubbs,  S.  C.  352.      Translation   by   Editors. 
2  Stubbs,  36.) 

THE  king  to  the  sheriff  of  Northamptonshire,  Greeting. 
Know  ye  that,  on  account  of  our  great  need  and  the  very 
urgent  pressure  of  our  debts  and  likewise  for  the  protection  of 
our  territory  of  Poitou,  all  the  magnates  and  subjects  of  our  whole 


Writ  for  the  Collection  of  a  Carnicage        53 

realm  have  granted  to  us  collectively  and  voluntarily  a  gift  to  be 
made  to  us,  to  wit,  from  each  carrucate  as  it  was  defined  on  the 
morrow  of  the  feast  of  the  Blessed  John  the  Baptist  last  part,  in 
the  fourth  year  of  our  reign,  two  shillings  are  to  be  collected  by 
your  own  hand  and  the  hands  of  two  of  the  more  lawful  knights 
of  your  country;  who  shall  be  chosen  to  do  this,  by  the  will 
and  counsel  of  all  of  the  county  in.  full  county  court.  And  there- 
fore we  bid  you  and  firmly  and  strictly  enjoin  you  that,  after  the 
convocation  of  the  full  court  of  your  county,  by  the  will  and 
consent  of  those  of  the  county,  you  cause  to  be  chosen  two  of 
the  more  lawful  knights  of  the  whole  county  who  shall  best  know 
how,  wish  and  be  able  to  attend  to  this  business  to  our  advantage, 
and  when  these  have  been  associated  with  you,  you  shall  immedi- 
ately cause  this  gift  to  be  assessed  throughout  your  whole  bailiwick 
and  collected  from  each  carrucate,  as  aforesaid,  excepting  the 
demesnes  of  the  archbishops,  bishops,  and  their  villeins,  and 
excepting  the  demesnes  of  the  order  of  the  Cistercians  and  Pre- 
monstratensians.  And  you  shall  see  to  it  that  you  know  how 
to  make  answer  to  us  strictly  and  openly,  on  the  morrow  of 
Michaelmas  next  coming,  at  London,  how  many  carrucates  there 
are  in  your  bailiwick  from  which  we  ought  to  have  this  gift ;  and 
the  money  coming  from  thence  you  shall  cause  to  be  safely 
collected  by  the  hands  of  the  aforesaid  two  knights  and  by  your 
own  hand,  and  that  money  you  shall  cause  to  be  brought  to 
London  on  the  aforesaid  day  under  your  seal  and  the  seals  of 
the  aforesaid  two  knights,  and  you  shall  have  it  deposited  safely 
in  the  New  Temple  until  it  shall  have  been  arranged  what  ought 
to  be  done  with  it ;  and  you,  as  you  value  your  life  and  property, 
busy  yourself  in  this,  lest  afterwards,  by  occasion  of  malfeasance 
done  by  you  and  the  aforesaid  knights  in  the  inquisition  and 
collection,  we  should  have  to  make  diligent  inquisition  by  faithful 
subjects  sent  from  our  court,  to  the  serious  confusion  of  yourself 
and  of  those  who  shall  have  been  associated  with  you  in  the 
making  of  the  aforesaid  inquisition  and  collection. 
Witness,  etc.,  at  Oxford,  the  ninth  day  of  August 


54  English  Constitutional  Documents 

31.    Writ  for  the  Assembling  of  the  County 
Court  before  the  Judges  Itinerant 

(April,    1231.      Latin   text,    Stubbs,    S.    C.   358.       Translation    by   Editors. 
2  Stubbs,  214.) 

THE  king  to  the  sheriff  of  Yorkshire,  Greeting. 
Summon  by  good  summoners  all  archbishops,  bishops,  abbots, 
priors,  earls,  barons,  knights,  and  all  freeholders  from  your  baili- 
wick, from  each  vill  four  lawful  men  and  the  reeve,  and  from  each 
borough  twelve  lawful  burgesses,  throughout  your  whole  bailiwick, 
and  all  others  who  are  accustomed  and  ought  to  appear  before 
the  justices  itinerant,  that  they  be  present  at  York  on  the  octave 
of  Trinity  Sunday  in  the  fifteenth  year  of  our  reign,  before  our 
beloved  and  faithful  S.  de  Segrave,  Ralph  Fitz-Robert,  Brian 
Fitz-Alan,  William  of  Lisle,  Robert  of  Lexington,  Master  Robert 
of  Shardelawe,  and  William  of  London,  whom  we  have  appointed 
our  justices,  to  hear  and  perform  our  commands.  Also,  at  that 
time,  cause  to  be  brought  before  the  said  justices  all  pleas  of  the 
crown  which  have  not  been  tried,  and  those  which  have  arisen 
since  our  justices  last  went  on  circuit  in  those  parts,  and  all  attach- 
ments concerning  those  pleas,  and  all  the  assizes  and  all  the  pleas 
which  are  set  down  for  the  first  assize  of  the  justices,  with  the 
writs  of  the  assizes  and  pleas,  so  that  those  assizes  and  pleas  shall 
not  be  omitted,  on  account  of  any  default  of  yours  or  of  your 
summons.  Also  cause  it  to  be  proclaimed  and  made  known 
throughout  your  whole  bailiwick  that  all  the  assizes  and  all  the 
pleas  which  were  appointed  a  term  for  a  hearing  and  have  not 
been  brought  to  an  end  before  our  justices  at  Westminster,  or 
before  our  justices  who  last  went  on  circuit  in  your  county  to 
hear  all  pleas,  or  before  the  justices  sent  thither  to  hold  assizes  of 
novel  disseisin  and  of  jail-delivery,  shall  at  that  time  come  before 
our  aforesaid  justices  at  York,  in  the  same  status  in  which  they 
have  remained  by  our  order,  or  by  the  order  of  our  aforesaid 
justices  itinerant  or  our  justices  of  the  bench.  Summon  also  all 
those  who  have  been  sheriffs  since  the  last  circuit  of  the  aforesaid 
justices  in  those  parts  that  they  be  present  at  that  time  and  place 
before  our  aforesaid  justices,  with  the  writs  concerning  the 
assizes  and  the  pleas  which  they  received  during  their  term  of 
office,  to  answer  for  their  term  as  they  ought  to  answer  before  the 
justices  itinerant.  And  have  there  the  summons  and  this  writ. 

Witness  Hubert  de  Burgh,  etc.,  at  Westminster,  the  twentieth 
day  of  April. 


Writ  of  Summons  for  Two  Knights  of  the  Shire     55 


32.     Writ  for  the  Collection  of  Scutage 

(July,    1235.    Latin    text,     Stubbs,    S.    C.    364.     Translation    by    Editors. 
2  Stubbs,  52.) 

THE  king  to  the  sheriff  of  Somersetshire,  Greeting. 
Know  that  the  earls  and  barons  and  all  others  of  our  whole 
realm  of  England,  of  their  own  free  will  and  not  as  a  precedent, 
have  granted  us  an  effectual  aid  to  promote  our  great  undertak- 
ings. Wherefore  provision  was  made  by  their  advice  that  we 
should  have  from  each  knight's  fee  which  is  held  from  us  in  chief,  and 
from  the  wardships,  as  well  from  a  new  feoffment  as  from  an  old 
one,  two  marks  to  furnish  us  the  aforesaid  aid,  of  which  they  made 
provision  to  give  us  one  moiety  at  Michaelmas  in  the  nineteenth 
year  of  our  reign,  and  the  other  moiety  at  Easter  in  our  twentieth 
year.  They  also  made  provision  that  the  said  scutage  should  be 
collected  by  the  hands  of  their  bailiffs  in  each  county  and  paid  by 
the  hands  of  the  same  to  two  knights  whom  we  have  designated  in 
each  county  for  conveying  it  to  our  exchequer  in  London,  and 
delivering  it  there  to  our  treasurer  and  our  chamberlains ;  and 
therefore  we  order  that,  at  the  command  of  all  the  earls  and  barons 
and  all  others  who  hold  from  us  in  chief,  in  the  aforesaid  bailiwick, 
in  the  aforesaid  manner,  and  without  delay,  you  shall  make  dis- 
traint upon  all  the  knights  and  freeholders  who  hold  from  them 
by  knight  service  in  your  bailiwick  for  the  paying  to  their  bailiffs 
from  each  knight's  fee  and  wardship  two  marks  to  render  us  the 
aforesaid  aid  at  the  aforesaid  times,  and  for  the  delivery  of  it  to 
John  of  Aura  and  Henry  of  Meriet  whom  we  have  appointed  for 
this  purpose  in  your  county,  as  aforesaid  etc. 

Witness  myself  at  Westminster,  the  seventeenth  of  July  in  the 
nineteenth  year,  etc. 


33.     Writ  of  Summons  for  Two  Knights  of  the 
Shire  to  grant  an  Aid 

(February,  1254.     Latin  text,   Stubbs,  S.    C.   376.    Translation  by  Editors. 
2  Stubbs,  69,  232.) 

TJ*ORM  directed  to  all  the  magnates  and  sheriffs  of  England. 
-i       The  king  to  the  sheriff  of  Bedfordshire  and  Buckinghamshire, 
Greeting. 

Since  the  earls  and  barons  and  other  magnates  of  our  realm 


56  English  Constitutional  Documents 

have  faithfully  promised  us  that  they  will  be  in  London  in  three 
weeks  from  next  Easter,  furnished  with  horses  and  arms  and  well 
equipped  to  go  without  any  delay  to  Portsmouth,  to  come  over  to 
Gascony  to  us,  to  aid  us  against  the  king  of  Castile  who  intends  to 
invade  our  territory  of  Gascony  with  a  strong  force,  next  summer, 
we  have  ordered  you  to  constrain  to  this  all  those  in  your  baili- 
wick who  hold  lands  worth  twenty  pounds  a  year  from  us  in  chief, 
or  from  others  who  are  under  age  and  in  our  wardship  ;  we  straitly 
command  you,  that  besides  all  those  aforesaid,  you  cause  to  come 
before  our  council  at  Westminster  on  the  fifteenth  day  after  Easter 
next,  four  lawful  and  discreet  knights  from  the  said  counties  whom 
the  said  counties  shall  have  chosen  for  this  purpose,  in  place  of  all 
and  singular  of  the  said  counties,  that  is,  two  from  one  county  and 
two  from  the  other,  who  together  with  the  knights  from  the  other 
counties  whom  we  have  had  summoned  for  the  same  day,  shall 
arrange  what  aid  they  are  willing  to  pay  us  in  our  need.  And  you 
yourself  carefully  set  forth  to  the  knights  and  others  of  the  said 
counties,  our  need  and  how  urgent  is  our  business,  and  effectually 
persuade  them  to  pay  us  an  aid  sufficient  for  the  time  being ;  so 
that  the  aforesaid  four  knights  at  the  aforesaid  time  shall  be  able 
to  give  definite  answer  concerning  the  said  aid  to  the  aforesaid 
council,  for  each  of  the  said  counties.  We  also  give  you  an  abso- 
lute command  that  all  dues  to  us  in  your  bailiwick  which  are  in 
arrears,  and  ought  to  be  paid  to  our  exchequer  before  Easter 
next,  or  which  ought  to  be  paid  to  the  exchequer  at  the  aforesaid 
Easter,  you  shall  have  at  the  aforesaid  exchequer  on  the  fifteenth 
day  after  the  aforesaid  Easter,  and  you  are  to  know  that  unless 
you  have  the  aforesaid  debts  then  and  there,  we  shall  not  only 
cause  you  to  be  placed  under  arrest  but  we  shall  also  cause  those 
dues  to  be  collected  from  your  lands  and  tenements  to  your 
exceeding  loss. 

Witness  Eleanor  the  queen  and  Richard  earl  of  Cornwall,  at 
Windsor,  the  eleventh  day  of  February. 


34.      Provisions  of  Oxford 

(Summer  of  1258.     Text,  Latin  and  French,  Stubbs,  S.  C.  387.     Translation 
of  Latin  by  Editors,  of  French  as  in  Stubbs,  S.  C.  393.     2  Stubbs,  76.) 

Provision  made  at  Oxford 

IT  is  provided  that  from  each  county  there  shall  be  chosen  four 
discreet  and  lawful  knights,  who  on  each  day  when  the  county 


Provisions  of  Oxford  57 

court  is  held,  shall  meet  to  hear  all  complaints  made  by  the  sher- 
iffs or  bailiffs  or  any  one  else  against  all  persons  whatsoever,  con- 
cerning all  trespasses  whatsoever,  and  to  make  the  attachments 
which  belong  to  the  said  complaints  before  the  next  coming  of 
the  chief  justice  into  those  parts.  Also  they  shall  take  sufficient 
sureties  from  the  plaintiff  to  prosecute  and  from  the  defendant  to 
appear  for  trial  before  the  aforesaid  justice  at  his  next  coming. 
And  that  the  aforesaid  four  knights  shall  cause  enrollment  to  be 
made  of  all  the  aforesaid  complaints,  with  their  attachments  in 
proper  order  and  sequence,  that  is,  each  hundred  separately  and 
by  itself.  So  that  the  aforesaid  justice  at  his  next  coming  shall 
be  able  to  hear  and  bring  to  an  end  the  aforesaid  complaints,  one 
by  one  from  each  hundred.  And  they  shall  make  known  to  the 
sheriff  that  all  the  hundredmen  and  their  bailiffs  shall  be  made  to 
appear  before  the  said  justice,  at  his  next  coming,  at  a  time  and 
place  which  he  shall  have  announced  to  them ;  so  that  each  hun- 
dredman  shall  cause  all  plaintiffs  and  defendants  from  his  baili- 
wick to  appear  in  succession  according  as  the  said  justice  shall 
have  called  to  trial  from  the  said  hundred ;  and  also  so  many  and 
such  knights  as  well  as  free  and  lawful  men  from  his  bailiwick  by 
whom  the  truth  of  the  matter  can  best  be  established,  in  such 
manner  that  all  shall  not  be  troubled  together  and  at  the  same 
time,  but  as  many  shall  appear  as  can  be  tried  and  brought  to  an 
end  in  one  day. 

Likewise  it  is  provided  that  no  knight  of  the  aforesaid  counties, 
shall  be  excused  by  writ  of  the  lord  king  that  he  be  not  placed 
upon  juries  and  assizes,  nor  be  quit  with  respect  to  this  provision 
thus  made  for  the  common  advantage  of  the  whole  realm. 

Those  elected  from  the  Party  of  the  Lord  King 

The  lord  bishop  of  London,  the  lord  bishop-elect  of  Winchester, 
the  lord  Henry  son  of  the  king  of  Germany,  the  lord  John  earl  of 
Warenne,  the  lord  Guy  of  Lusignan,  the  lord  William  of  Valence, 
the  lord  John  earl  of  Warwick,  the  lord  John  Mansel,  friar  John 
of  Darlington,  the  abbot  of  Westminster,  the  lord  Henry  of 
Wengham. 

Those  elected  from  the  Party  of  the  Earls  and  Barons 

The  lord  bishop  of  Worcester,  the  lord  Simon  earl  of  Leicester, 
the  lord  Richard  earl  of  Gloucester,  the  lord  Humphrey  earl  of 
Hereford,  the  lord  Roger  Marshall,  the  lord  Roger  of  Mortimer, 
the  lord  John  Fitz-Geoffrey,  the  lord  Hugh  Bigot,  the  lord  Rich- 


58  English  Constitutional  Documents 

ard  de  Gray,  the  lord  William  Bardulf,  the  lord  Peter  de  Montfort, 
the  lord  Hugh  le  Despenser. 

And  if  it  happens  that  any  one  of  these  cannot  be  present, 
through  necessity,  the  rest  of  these  shall  choose  whom  they  will, 
to  wit,  the  other  necessary  in  the  place  of  the  one  absent,  in  order 
to  transact  this  business. 

This  the  Commonalty  of  England  swore  at  Oxford 

We,  so  and  so,  make  known  to  all  men,  that  we  have  sworn 
upon  the  holy  Gospels,  and  are  held  together  by  such  oath,  and 
promise  in  good  faith,  that  each  one  of  us  and  we  all  together  will 
mutually  aid  each  other,  both  ourselves  and  those  belonging  to  us, 
against  all  people,  doing  right  and  taking  nothing  that  we  cannot 
without  doing  mischief,  saving  faith  to  the  king  and  the  crown. 
And  we  promise  under  the  same  oath,  none  of  us  will  henceforth 
take  land  or  movables  by  which  this  oath  can  be  disturbed  or  in 
any  ways  impaired.  And  if  any  one  acts  against  this,  we  will  hold 
him  as  a  mortal  enemy. 

This  is  the  Oath  to  the  Twenty-four 

Each  swore  on  the  holy  Gospels,  that  he  to  the  honor  of  God, 
and  to  his  faith  to  the  king,  and  to  the  profit  of  the  realm,  will 
ordain  and  treat  with  the  aforesaid  sworn  persons  upon  the  refor- 
mation and  amendment  of  the  state  of  the  realm.  And  that  he 
will  not  fail  for  gift,  nor  for  promise,  for  love,  nor  for  hate,  nor  for 
fear  of  any  one,  nor  for  gain,  nor  for  loss,  loyally  to  do  according 
to  the  tenor  of  the  letter  which  the  king  and  his  son  have  together 
given  for  this. 

This  the  Chief  Justice  of  England  swor 

He  swears  that  he  will  well  and  loyally  according  to  his  power 
do  that  which  belongs  to  the  justiciar  of  right  to  hold,  to  all  per- 
sons, to  the  profit  of  the  king  and  the  kingdom,  according  to  the 
provision  made  and  to  be  made  by  the  twenty-four,  and  by  the 
counsel  of  the  king  and  the  great  men  of  the  land,  who  shall  swear 
in  these  things  to  aid  and  support  him. 

This  the  Chancellor  of  England  swore 

That  he  will  seal  no  writ,  excepting  writs  of  course,  without  the 
commandment  of  the  king  and  of  his  council  who  shall  be  present. 


Provisions  of  Oxford  59 

Nor  shall  he  seal  a  gift  of  a  great  wardship,  or  of  a  great  (  )  ' 
nor  of  escheats,  without  the  assent  of  the  great  council  or  of  the 
major  part.  And  that  he  will  seal  nothing  which  may  be  contrary 
to  the  ordinance  which  is  made  and  shall  be  made  by  the  twenty- 
four,  or  by  the  major  part.  And  that  he  will  keep  no  fee  other- 
wise than  what  is  given  to  the  others.  And  he  shall  be  given  a 
companion  in  the  form  which  the  council  shall  provide. 

This  is  the  Oath  which  the  Guardians  of  the  King's  Castles  made 

That  they  will  keep  the  castles  of  the  king  loyally  and  in  good 
faith  for  the  use  of  the  king  and  of  his  heirs  ;  and  that  they  will 
give  them  up  to  the  king  or  to  his  heirs,  and  to  none  other,  and 
by  his  counsel  and  in  no  other  manner,  to  wit,  by  honest  men  of 
the  land  elected  as  his  council,  or  by  the  major  part.  And  this 
form  by  writ  lasts  for  twelve  years.  And  from  that  time  forward 
by  this  settlement  and  this  oath  they  shall  not  be  hindered  so  that 
they  cannot  freely  give  them  up  to  the  king  and  his  heirs. 

These  are  those  who  are  sworn  of  the  King's  Council 

The  archbishop  of  Canterbury,  the  bishop  of  Worcester,  the 
earl  of  Leicester,  the  earl  of  Gloucester,  the  earl  Marshall,  Peter 
of  Savoy,  the  earl  of  Albemarle,  the  earl  of  Warwick,  the  earl  of 
Hereford,  John  Mansel,  John  Fitz-Geoffrey,  Peter  de  Montfort, 
Richard  de  Gray,  Roger  of  Mortimer,  James  of  Aldithley. 

The  twelve  on  the  king's  side  have  elected  out  of  the  twelve  on 
that  of  the  commonalty  the  earl  Roger  the1  Marshall,  and  Hugh 
Bigot. 

And  the  party  of  commonalty  have  elected  out  of  the  twelve 
who  are  on  the  king's  side  the  earl  of  Warwick  and  John  Mansel. 

And  these  four  have  power  to  elect  the  council  of  the  king,  and 
when  they  have  elected  them,  they  shall  present  them  to  the 
twenty-four ;  and  there,  where  the  greater  part  of  these  agree,  it 
shall  be  held. 

These  are  the  Twelve  who  are  ekcted  by  the  Barons  to  treat  at  the 
Three  Parliaments  by  Year  with  the  King's  Council  for  all  the 
Commonalty  of  the  Land  of  the  Common  Need 

The  bishop  of  London,  the  earl  of  Winchester,  the  earl  of  Here- 
ford, Philip  Basset,  John  of  Balliol,  John  of  Verdun,  John  de 

l  A  blank  space  in  the  manuscript. 


60  English  Constitutional  Documents 

Gray,  Roger  of  Sumery,  Roger  de  Monthaut,  Hugh  le  Despenser, 
Thomas  of  Gresley,  Giles  d' Argentine. 

These  are  the  Twenty-four  appointed  by  the  Commonalty  to  treat 
of  Aid  to  the  King 

The  bishop  of  Worcester,  the  bishop  of  London,  the  bishop  of 
Salisbury,  the  earl  of  Leicester,  the  earl  of  Gloucester,  the  earl 
Marshall,  Peter  of  Savoy,  the  earl  of  Hereford,  the  earl  of  Albe- 
marle,  the  earl  of  Winchester,  the  earl  of  Oxford,  John  Fitz- 
Geoffrey,  John  de  Gray,  John  of  Balliol,  Roger  of  Mortimer, 
Roger  de  Monthaut,  Roger  of  Sumery,  Peter  de  Monfort,  Thomas 
of  Gresley,  Fulk  of  Kerston,  Giles  d'Argentine,  John  Kyriel, 
Philip  Basset,  Giles  of  Erdinton. 

And  if  any  one  of  these  cannot  or  will  not  serve,  those  who  shall 
be  there  have  power  to  elect  another  in  his  place. 

Of  the  State  of  Holy  Church 

Be  it  remembered  that  the  state  of  the  holy  church  be  amended 
by  the  twenty-four  elected  to  reform  the  state  of  the  realm  of 
England,  when  they  shall  see  place  and  time,  according  to  the 
power  which  they  have  respecting  it  by  the  letter  of  the  king  of 
England. 

Of  the  Chief  Justice 

Moreover,  that  a  justice  be  appointed,  one  or  two,  and  what 
power  he  shall  have,  .and  that  he  be  only  for  a  year.  So  that  at 
the  end  of  the  year,  he  answer  concerning  his  time  before  the 
king  and  his  council  and  before  him  who  shall  follow  him. 

Of  the  Treasurer,  and  of  the  Exchequer 

The  like  of  the  treasurer.  That  he  too  give  account  at  the  end 
of  the  year.  And  other  good  persons  are  to  be  placed  at  the 
exchequer  according  to  the  direction  of  the  aforesaid  twenty-four. 
And  there  let  all  the  issues  of  the  land  come,  and  in  no  part  else- 
where. And  let  that  which  shall  be  seen  to  require  amendment, 
be  amended. 

Of  the  Chancellor 

The  like  of  the  chancellor.  That  he  at  the  end  of  the  year 
answer  concerning  his  time.  And  that  he  seal  nothing  out  of 
course  by  the  sole  will  of  the  king.  But  that  he  do  it  by  the 
council  which  shall  be  around  the  king. 


Provisions  of  Oxford  61 


Of  the  Power  of  the  Justice  and  Bailiffs 

The  chief  justice  has  power  to  amend  the  wrongs  done  by  all 
the  other  justices  and  bailiffs,  and  earls,  and  barons,  and  all  other 
people,  according  to  the  law  and  justice  of  the  land,  and  in  fit 
places,  and  that  the  justice  take  nothing  unless  it  be  presents  of 
bread  and  wine,  and  such  things,  to  wit,  meat  and  drink,  as  have 
been  used  to  be  brought  to  the  tables  of  the  chief  men  for  the 
day.  And  let  this  same  thing  be  understood  of  all  the  king's 
councillors  and  all  his  bailiffs.  And  that  no  bailiff  by  occasion  of 
plea  or  of  his  office,  take  any  fee  in  his  own  hand,  or  through  the 
agency  of  another  in  any  manner.  And  if  he  is  convicted,  that 
he  be  punished,  and  he  who  gives  likewise.  And  if  it  be  fitting, 
that  the  king  give  to  his  justiciar  and  his  people  who  serve  him, 
so  that  they  have  no  occasion  to  take  any  thing  from  elsewhere. 

Of  the  Sheriffs 

Let  there  be  provided  as  sheriffs,  loyal  people,  and  substantial 
men,  and  land  tenants ;  so  that  hi  each  county  there  be  a  vava- 
sour of  the  same  county  as  sheriff,  to  treat  the  people  of  the 
county  well,  loyally,  and  rightfully.  And  that  he  take  no  fee,  and 
that  he  be  sheriff  only  for  a  year  together ;  and  that  in  the  year 
he  give  up  his  accounts  at  the  exchequer  and  answer  for  his  time. 
And  that  the  king  grant  unto  him  out  of  his  own,  according  to  his 
contribution,  so  that  he  can  guard  the  county  rightfully.  And 
that  he  take  no  fee,  neither  he  nor  his  bailiffs.  And  if  they  be 
convicted  let  them  be  punished. 

Be  it  remembered  that  such  amendment  is  to  be  applied  to  the 
Jewry,  and  to  the  wardens  of  the  Jewry,  that  the  oath  as  to  the 
same  may  be  kept. 

Of  the  Escheators 

Let  good  escheators  be  appointed ;  and  that  they  take  nothing 
of  the  effects  of  the  dead,  of  such  lands  as  ought  to  be  in  the  king's 
hand.  Also  that  the  escheators  have  free  administration  of  the 
goods  until  they  shall  have  done  the  king's  will,  if  they  owe  him 
debts.  And  that,  according  to  the  form  of  the  Charter  of  liberty. 
And  that  inquiry  be  made  into  the  wrongs  done  which  the  escheat- 
ors have  done  there  aforetime,  and  amendment  be  made  of  such 
and  such.  Nor  let  tallage  on  any  thing  else  be  taken,  excepting 
such  as  ought  to  be  according  to  the  Charter  of  liberty. 

Let  the  Charter  of  liberty  be  kept  firmly. 


62  English  Constitutional  Documents 

Of  the  Exchange  of  London 

Be  it  remembered  to  amend  the  exchange  of  London,  and  the 
city  of  London,  and  all  the  other  cities  of  the  king  which  have  gone 
to  shame  and  destruction  by  the  tallages  and  other  oppressions. 

Of  the  Place  of  Reception  of  the  King  and  Queen 

Be  it  remembered  to  amend  the  hostelry  of  the  king  and  the 
queen. 

Of  the  Parliaments,  how  Many  shall  be  held  by  Year,  and  in  what 
Manner 

It  is  to  be  remembered  that  the  twenty-four  have  ordained  that 
there  be  three  parliaments  a  year.  The  first  at  the  octave  of  Saint 
Michael.  The  second  the  morrow  of  Candlemas.  The  third  the 
first  day  of  June,  to  wit,  three  weeks  before  Saint  John.  To  these 
three  parliaments  the  elected  councillors  of  the  king  shall  come, 
even  if  they  are  not  sent  for,  to  see  the  state  of  the  realm,  and  to 
treat  of  the  common  wants  of  the  kingdom,  and  of  the  king  in  like 
manner.  And  other  times  in  like  manner  when  occasion  shall  be, 
by  the  king's  command. 

So  it  is  to  be  remembered  that  the  commonalty  elect  twelve 
honest  men,  who  shall  come  at  the  parliaments  and  other  times 
when  occasion  shall  be,  when  the  king  or  his  council  shall  send 
for  them  to  treat  of  the  wants  of  the  king  and  of  the  kingdom. 
And  that  the  commonalty  shall  hold  as  established  that  which 
these  twelve  shall  do.  And  that  shall  be  done  to  spare  the  cost 
of  the  commonalty. 

There  shall  be  fifteen  named  by  these  four,  to  wit,  by  the  earl 
Marshall,  the  earl  of  Warwick,  Hugh  Bigot,  and  John  Mansel, 
who  are  elected  by  the  twenty-four  to  name  the  aforesaid  fifteen, 
who  shall  be  the  king's  council.  And  they  shall  be  confirmed  by 
the  aforesaid  twenty-four,  or  by  the  major  part  of  them.  And 
they  shall  have  power  to  counsel  the  king  in  good  faith  concern- 
ing the  government  of  the  realm  and  all  things  which  appertain  to 
the  king  or  to  the  kingdom ;  and  to  amend  and  redress  all  things 
which  they  shall  see  require  to  be  redressed  and  amended.  And 
over  the  chief  justice  and  over  all  other  people.  And  if  they  can- 
not all  be  present,  that  which  the  majority  shall  do  shall  be  firm 
and  established.  [The  names  of  the  principal  castles  of  the  king, 
and  of  those  who  have  them  in  keeping,  follow  in  the  Ms.] 


The  Provisions  of  the  Barons  or  of  Westminster     63 

35.     The  Provisions  of  the  Barons  or  of  West-* 
minster 

(October,  1259.     Latin  text  and  translation,  I  S.  R.  8,  Stubbs,  S.  C.  401. 
2  Stubbs,  83.) 

IN  the  year  of  the  Incarnation  of  our  Lord,  one  thousand  two 
hundred  and  fifty-nine,  and  the  forty-third  year  of  the  reign  of 
king  Henry  the  son  of  king  John,  there  being  assembled  at  West- 
minster in  the  fifteenth  of  Saint  Michael,  our  said  lord  the  king 
and  his  great  men,  by  the  common  counsel  and  consent  of  the 
said  king  and  great  men,  the  underwritten  provisions  were  made 
by  the  same  king  and  great  men,  and  were  published  in  the 
manner  following. 

1.  Of  doing  suits,  unto  the  courts  of  the  great  men  and  others 
the  lords  of  these  courts,   it  is  provided  and  with  full  consent 
ordained,  that  no  man  who  hath  been  infeoffed  by  deed  shall  be 
distrained  from  henceforth  to  do  suit  unto  the  court  of  his  lord, 
unless  he  be  specially  bounden  to  do  suit  by  the  form  of  his  deed  : 
except  those  whose  ancestors  or  who  themselves  have  used  to  do 
such  suit,  before  the  first  voyage  of  the  said  lord  the  king  into 
Brittany ;  from  the  time  whereof  there  have  passed  twenty-nine 
years  and  a  half  at  the  time  of  making  this  ordinance ;  and  in  like 
manner  no  man  infeoffed  without  deed  from  the  time  of  the  Con- 
quest, or  by  other  ancient  feoffment,  shall  be  distrained  to  do  such 
suit ;  unless  he  or  his  ancestors  have  used  to  do  the  same,  before 
the  first  voyage  of  the  said  lord  the  king  into  Brittany. 

2.  And  if  any  inheritance  wherefrom  only  one  suit  was  due, 
shall  descend  unto  many  heirs,  as  parceners  thereof,  he  that  hath 
the  elder's  share  of  that  inheritance  shall  do  one  suit  for  himself 
and  his  coparceners;  and  his  coparceners  shall  contribute  after 
their  shares,  to  the  doing  of  that  suit.     And  in  like  manner  if 
many  shall  have  been  infeoffed  of  any  inheritance  wherefrom  one 
suit  were  due,  the  lord  of  that  fee  shall  have  but  one  suit  there- 
from ;  nor  can  he  exact  more  than  one  suit  from  the  said  inherit- 
ance, as  it  hath  been  used  to  be  done  before.     And  if  the  persons 
infeoffed  have  no  warrantor  or  mean  who  ought  to  acquit  them 
thereof,  then  all  of  them  shall  contribute  after  their  shares,  to  the 
doing  of  that  suit. 

3.  And  if  it  happen  that  the  lords  of  courts  do  distrain  their 
tenants  for  such  suit,  contrary  to  this  provision,  then  upon  the 
complaint  of  those  tenants  they  shall  be  attached  to  appear  in  the 


64  English  Constitutional  Documents 

king's  court  at  a  short  day  to  answer  therefore ;  and  they  shall 
.  have  but  one  essoin  if  they  be  within  the  realm ;  and  the  cattle 
or  other  distresses  taken  upon  this  occasion  shall  be  delivered 
to  the  plaintiff  forthwith,  and  shall  remain  delivered  until  the  plea 
between  them  be  ended.  And  if  the  lords  of  the  courts  who  have 
made  such  distresses,  shall  not  appear  at  the  day  whereto  they 
were  attached,  or  shall  not  keep  the  day  given  to  them  upon  the 
essoin,  then  the  sheriff  shall  be  commanded  to  cause  them  to 
come  upon  another  day;  at  which  day  if  they  come  not,  the 
sheriff  shall  be  commanded  to  distrain  them  by  all  that  they  pos- 
sess within  his  bailiwick,  so  that  he  shall  answer  to  the  king  for 
the  issues,  and  to  have  their  bodies  by  a  certain  day  to  be  pre- 
fixed, so  that  if  they  should  not  come  upon  that  day,  the  party 
plaintiff  may  go  thence  without  day ;  and  the  cattle  or  other  dis- 
tresses shall  remain  delivered  until  those  lords  shall  recover  that 
suit  by  award  of  the  court  of  our  lord  the  king ;  and  in  the  mean 
time  such  distresses  shall  cease  :  saving  to  the  lords  of  the  courts 
their  right  to  recover  those  suits  in  form  of  law,  when  they  will 
sue  therefore.  And  when  the  lords  of  the  courts  shall  appear  to 
answer  unto  the  plaintiffs  for  such  distresses,  if  they  be  thereupon 
convicted,  then  by  the  award  of  the  court,  the  plaintiffs  shall 
recover  against  them  their  damages,  which  they  have  sustained 
by  occasion  of  the  aforesaid  distress.  And  in  like  manner,  if  ten- 
ants, after  this  act,  do  withdraw  from  their  lords  their  suits  which 
they  ought  to  do,  and  which  before  the  time  of  the  aforesaid 
voyage  and  hitherto  they  have  used  to  do,  the  lords  of  the  courts 
shall  obtain  justice  to  recover  their  suits,  together  with  their  dam- 
ages, by  the  same  process  and  dispatch,  in  respect  of  appointment 
of  days  and  awarding  of  distresses,  like  as  the  tenants  do  recover 
their  damages.  And  this  matter  of  recovering  damages  must  be 
understood  of  the  withdrawings  done  to  themselves,  and  not  of  the 
withdrawings  done  to  their  predecessors :  nevertheless  the  lords 
of  the  courts  shall  not  recover  seisin  of  such  suits  against  their 
tenants  by  default ;  as  that  hath  not  been  the  custom  hitherto. 
And  concerning  the  suits  that  were  withdrawn  before  the  time 
of  the  aforesaid  voyage,  let  the  common  law  have  its  course,  as  it 
hath  used  to  have  before. 

4.  Concerning  the  sheriff's  turn,  it  is  provided  that  archbishops, 
bishops,  abbots,  priors,  earls,  barons,  shall  not  be  obliged  to  come 
thither,  nor  any  men  of  religion,  or  women,  unless  their  presence 
be  specially  required  ;  but  the  turn  shall  be  holden  as  it  was  wont 
to  be  in  the  times  of  our  lord  the  king's  predecessors.  And  where 
any  do  hold  tenements  in  divers  hundreds,  they  shall  not  be  obliged 


The  Provisions  of  the  Barons  or  of  Westminster     65 

to  come  to  such  turn  except  in  the  bailiwicks  where  they  shall 
dwell :  and  the  turns  shall  be  holden  according  to  the  form  of  the 
king's  Great  Charter,  and  as  they  were  wont  to  be  holden  in  the 
times  of  king  John  and  king  Richard. 

5.  It  is  also  provided  that  neither  in  the  circuit  of  justicers,  nor 
in  the  county  and  hundred  courts,  nor  in  the  courts  baron,  shall 
fines  be  taken  from  any  from  henceforth  for  fair  pleading,  nor  for 
not  being  troubled  on  that  account. 

6.  In  the  plea  of  dower  that  is  called  Unde  nihil  habet,  from 
henceforth  there  shall  be  given  four  days  in  the  year  at  least,  and 
more  if  it  may  be  conveniently  done. 

7.  In  assizes  of  darrein  presentment,  and  in  the  plea  of  Quare 
impedit  of  churches  vacant,  the  day  shall  be  given  from  fifteen 
days  to  fifteen  days,  or  from  three  weeks  to  three  weeks,  accord- 
ing as  the  place  may  be  far  or  near.     And  in  the  plea  of  Quare 
impedit,  if  the  disturber  come  not  at  the  first  day  for  which  he 
shall  have  been  summoned,  nor  cast  an  essoin,  then  he  shall  be 
attached  unto  another  day,  on  which  day  if  he  come  not  nor  cast 
an  essoin,  he  shall  be  distrained  by  the  great  distress  above  men- 
tioned.    And  if  he  come  not  then,  upon  his  default  the  bishop 
shall  be  written  to,  that  the  claim  of  the   disturber  shall   not 
obstruct  the  plaintiff  for  that  term ;  saving  unto  the  disturber  his 
right  at  another  time,  when  he  will  sue  therefore. 

8.  Concerning  charters  of  exemption  and  privilege,  that  the 
purchasers  shall  not  be  impanelled  in  assizes,  juries,  or  recogni- 
tions, it  is  provided,  that  if  their  oath  should  be  so  necessary, 
that  without  it  justice  could  not  be  administered,  as  in  the  great 
assize  and  perambulations,  and  where  they  may  have  been  named 
as  witnesses  in  charters,  or  writings  of  covenants,  or  in  attaints 
or  other  like  cases,  they  shall  be  compelled  to  swear;   saving 
unto  them  at  another  time  their  aforesaid  privilege  and  exemp- 
tion. 

9.  If  any  heir  should  be  under  age  after  the  death  of  his  ances- 
tor, and  his  lord  have  the  wardship  of  his  lands,  if  that  lord  will 
not  render  unto  the  said  heir  his  lands  when  he  cometh  to  lawful 
age,  without  plea,  the  heir  shall  recover  his  land  as  from  the  death 
of  his  ancestor,  together  with  the  damages  that  he  shall  have  sus- 
tained by  that  withholding  from  the  time  of  his  coming  to  lawful 
age ;  and  if  an  heir  at  the  time  of  his  ancestor's  death  be  of  full 
age,  and  such  heir,  apparent  and  known  to  be  the  heir,  be  found 
in  the  inheritance,  his  chief  lord  shall  not  put  him  out,  nor  take 
or  remove  any  thing  therefrom,  but  shall  take  simple  seisin  only 
for  the  acknowledgment  of  his  seigniory. 


66  English  Constitutional   Documents 

10.  And  if  a  chief  lord  do  maliciously  keep  such  an  heir  out 
of  the  possession,  whereby  it   behoveth  him  to  proceed   by  an 
action  of  mort  d'ancestor  or  cosinage,  then  he  shall  recover  his 
damages,  as  in  the  action  of  novel  disseisin. 

11.  No  man  from  thenceforth  shall  be  permitted,  for  any  man- 
ner of  cause,  to  make  distresses  out  of  his  fee,  nor  in  the  king's 
or  common  highway,  except  our  lord  the  king  and  his  officers. 

12.  It  is  also  provided,  that  where  land  that  is  holden  in  socage 
is  in  the  custody  of  an  heir's  kinsfolk,  because   the   heirs   were 
within  age,  those  guardians  cannot  make  waste  or   sale   or   any 
despoiling  in  that  inheritance,   but   shall  keep  it   safely  for   the 
use  of  the  heir :  so  that  when  he  shall  come  to  age,  they  shall 
answer  unto  him  by  a  lawful  account  for  the  issues  of  the  said 
inheritance ;    saving   unto  those  guardians   their   reasonable    ex- 
penses.    Neither  can  the  said  guardians  give  or  sell  the  marriage 
of  the  said  heir,  but  for  the  benefit  of  the  heir  himself. 

13.  No  escheator,  or  commissioner,  or  justice,  especially  as- 
signed to  take  any  assizes,  or  to  hear  and  determine  any  com- 
plaints, shall  from  henceforth  have  authority  to  amerce  for  default 
of  the  common  summons,  except  the  chief  justice  or  justices  in 
eyre  in  their  circuits. 

14.  It  shall  not  be  lawful  for  men  of  religion  to  enter  into  any 
man's  fee,  without  the  license  of  the  chief  lord  of  whom  the  fee 
is  immediately  holden. 

15.  Concerning   essoins  it  is  provided,  that   in  the  county  or 
hundred  courts,  or  courts  baron,  or  elsewhere,  no  man  shall  be 
obliged  to  swear  for  the  warranting  of  his  essoin. 

1 6.  None  but  the  king  from  henceforth  shall  hold  plea  in  his 
court  of  a  false  judgment  given  in  the  court  of  his  tenants ;  be- 
cause such  pleas  do  especially  belong  to  the  king's  crown  and 
dignity. 

1 7.  It  is  provided  also,  that  if  any  man's  cattle  be  taken  and 
unjustly  detained,  the  sheriff  after  complaint  thereof  made  unto 
him,  may  deliver  them,  without  let  or  gainsaying  of  him  who  took 
the  said  cattle,  if  they  were  taken  without  liberties,  and  if  such 
cattle  should   be  taken  within  liberties,  and    the  bailiffs    of  the 
liberties  will  not  deliver  them,  then  the  sheriff,  for  the  default  of 
the  said  bailiffs,  shall  cause  them  to  be  delivered. 

1 8.  No  man  from  henceforth  shall  distrain  his  free  tenants  to 
answer  for  their  freehold,  nor  for  any  matters  pertaining  to  their 
freehold,  without  the  king's  writ ;  nor  shall  cause  his  free  tenants 
to  swear  against  their  will :  for  none  can  do  this  without  a  pre- 
cept of  the  king. 


The  Provisions  of  the  Barons  or  of  Westminster     6j 

19.  It  is  provided  also,  that   if  bailiffs   who  are  bounden   t<\ 
render  account  unto  their  lords  shall  withdraw  themselves,  and 
have  no  lands  or  tenements  whereby  they  may  be  distrained,  then 
they  shall  be  attached  by  their  bodies,  so  that  the  sheriffs   in 
whose  bailiwicks  they  shall  be  found,  shall  cause  them  to  come  to 
the  rendering  of  their  account. 

20.  Also  farmers  during  their  farms,  shall  not  make  waste,  or 
sale,  or  exile,  in  woods,  houses,  men,  or  in  any  thing  else  belong- 
ing to  the  tenements  which  they  have  to  farm ;  unless  they  have 
a  special  grant  in  the  writing  of  their  covenant,  making  mention 
that  they  may  do  so.     And  if  they  do,  and  be  convicted  thereof, 
they  shall  restore  damages  in  full. 

21.  The  justices  in  eyre  from  henceforth  shall  not  amerce  the 
township  in  their  circuit,  because    all  that  are  twelve  years  old 
do  not  appear  before  the  sheriffs  and  coroners  upon  inquests  for 
the  death  of  man,  or  other  things  pertaining  to  the   crown ;  so 
that  from  those  townships  there  come  enough  for  the  making  of 
such  inquests  fully. 

22.  The  fine  of  murder  from  henceforth  shall  not  be  adjudged 
before  the  justices,  where  it  hath  been  adjudged  to  be  misfortune 
only :  but  the  fine  of  murder  shall  hold  place  upon  those  slain 
feloniously,  and  not  otherwise. 

23.  It  is  moreover  provided,  that  no  man  who  is  vouched  to 
warranty  before  the  justices  in  eyre,  in  a  plea  of  land  or  tenement, 
shall   from  henceforth  be  amerced  because  he  was  not  present, 
save  on  the  first  day  of  the  coming  of  the  justices :  but   if  the 
vouchee  be  within  the  county,  then  the  sheriff  shall  be  enjoined 
to  cause  him  to  come  within  the  third  or  fourth  day,  according 
to  the  distance  of  the  places,  as  it  was  wont  to  be  in  the  circuit 
of  the  justices :  and  if  he  dwell  without  the  county,  then  he  shall 
have  a  reasonable  summons  of  fifteen  days  at  the  least,  according 
to  the  discretion  of  the  justices  and  the  tommon  law. 

24.  If  any  clerk  should  be  arrested  for  any  crime  or  charge 
that  toucheth  the  crown,  and  afterwards  by  the  king's  precept, 
be  let  to  bail,  or  be  replevied,  so  that  those  to  whom  he  is  let  to 
bail  should  have  him  before  the  justices,  from  henceforth  they  to 
whom  he  hath  been  let  to  bail,  or  his  other  pledges  shall  not  be 
amerced,  if  they  have  his  body  before  the  justices,  although  he 
will  not  or  cannot  make  answer  before  them  by  reason  of  the 
privilege  of  clergy. 


68  English  Constitutional  Documents 

36.   Confirmation  of  the  Charters 

(March,  1265.      Latin  text,  Stubbs,  S.  C.  416.     Translation  by  Editors. 
2  Stubbs,  94.) 

*T^HE  king  to  all  the  people  of  the  county  of  York,  Greeting. 
-L  *  *  *  We  will  and  expressly  agree  that,  if  we  or  the  said 
Edward  our  son  shall  have  presumed  to  go  in  any  way  contrary  — 
may  it  be  far  from  us  —  to  the  said  ordinance,  or  our  provision, 
or  oath,  or  to  disturb  the  peace  and  tranquillity  of  our  realm,  or 
to  molest,  by  reason  of  their  former  acts  in  the  time  of  the  late 
disturbance  and  war,  any  one  of  the  aforesaid,  or  of  the  party  of 
the  aforesaid  whom  we  have  defied,  or  do  or  procure  the  doing 
of  injury  to  any  of  them,  it  shall  be  lawful  for  every  one  in  our 
realm  to  rise  against  us  and  to  use  all  the  ways  and  means  they 
can  to  hinder  us ;  to  which  we  will  that  each  and  every  one  shall 
henceforth  be  bound  by  our  command,  notwithstanding  the  fealty 
and  homage  which  he  has  sworn  to  us ;  so  that  they  shall  in  no 
way  give  attention  to  us,  but  that  they  shall  do  everything  which 
aims  at  our  injury  and  shall  in  no  way  be  bound  to  us,  until  that 
in  which  we  have  transgressed  and  offenced  shall  have  been  by  a 
fitting  satisfaction  brought  again  into  due  state,  according  to  the 
form  of  the  ordinance  of  the  aforesaid,  and  of  our  provision  or 
oath ;  this  having  been  done  let  them  be  obedient  to  us  as  they 
were  before.  *  *  * 

Witness  myself  at  Westminster,  the  fourteenth  day  of  March, 
in  the  forty-ninth  year  of  our  reign. 


37.    The  Statutes  of  Westminster ;  the  First 

(1275.    French  text  and  translation,  I  S.  R.  26,  Stubbs,  S  C.  450. 
2  Stubbs,  113.) 

*~PHESE  be  the  acts  of  king  Edward,  son  to  king  Henry,  made 
J-  at  Westminster  at  his  first  parliament  general  after  his  coro- 
nation, on  the  Monday  of  Easter  Utas,  the  third  year  of  his  reign, 
by  his  council  and  by  the  assent  of  archbishops,  bishops,  abbots, 
priors,  earls,  barons,  and  the  commonalty  of  the  realm,  being 
thither  summoned  :  because  *  *  *  •  the  king  hath  ordained  and 
established  these  acts  underwritten,  which  he  intendeth  to  be  neces- 
sary and  profitable  unto  the  whole  realm. 


Grant  of  Customs  on  Wool,  Woolfells,  and  Leather  69 

5.  And  because  elections  ought  to  be  free,  the  king  command- 
eth  upon  great  forfeiture,  that  no  man  by  force  of  arms,  nor  by 
malice,  or  menacing,  shall  disturb  any  to  make  free  election. 

36.  Forasmuch  as  before  this  time,  reasonable  aid  to  make 
one's  son  knight,  or  to  marry  his  daughter,  was  never  put  in  cer- 
tain, nor  how  much  should  be  taken,  nor  at  what  time,  whereby 
some  levied  unreasonable  aid,  and  more  often  than  seemed  neces- 
sary, whereby  the  people  were  sore  grieved ;  it  is  provided,  that  from 
henceforth  of  a  whole  knight's  fee  there  be  taken  but  twenty  shil- 
lings, and  of  twenty-pound  land  holden  in  socage,  twenty  shillings ; 
and  of  more,  more ;  and  of  less,  less ;  after  the  rate.  And  that 
none  shall  levy  such  aid  to  make  his  son  knight,  until  his  son  be 
fifteen  years  of  age,  nor  to  marry  his  daughter,  until  she  be  of  the 
age  of  seven  years.  And  of  that  there  shall  be  made  mention  in 
the  king's  writ,  formed  on  the  same,  when  any  will  demand  it. 
And  if  it  happen  that  the  father,  after  that  he  hath  levied  such  aid 
of  his  tenants,  die  before  he  hath  married  his  daughter,  the  execu- 
tors of  the  father  shall  be  bound  to  the  daughter,  for  so  much  as 
the  father  received  for  the  aid.  And  if  the  father's  goods  be  not 
sufficient,  his  heir  shall  be  charged  therewith  unto  the  daughter. 


38.    Grant  of  Customs  on  Wool,  Woolfells,  and 
Leather 

(May,  1275.    Latin  text,  Stubbs,  S.  C.  451.    Translation  by  Editors.    2  Stubbs, 
"3,  550-) 

WILLIAM  of  Valence,  earl  of  Pembroke,  to  all  the  faithful  in 
Christ  to  whom  the  present  writ  shall  come,  Greeting  in 
the  Lord. 

Since  the  archbishops,  bishops,  and  other  prelates  of  the  realm 
of  England,  and  the  earls,  barons,  and  we  and  the  communities 
of  the  said  realm,  at  the  instance  and  request  of  the  merchants, 
have  for  many  reasons,  unanimously  granted  to  the  great  prince 
and  lord,  our  well-beloved  lord  Edward,  by  the  grace  of  God,  the 
illustrious  king  of  England,  for  us  and  our  heirs,  a  half  mark  from 
each  sack  of  wool,  and  a  half  mark  from  each  three  hundred  wool- 
fells,  which  make  a  sack,  and  one  mark  from  each  last  of  leather, 
exported  from  the  realm  of  England  and  the  land  of  Wales,  to  be 


yo  English  Constitutional  Documents 

collected  henceforth  in  each  and  every  port  of  England  and  Wales, 
as  well  within  liberties  as  without ;  we,  at  the  request  and  instance 
of  the  aforesaid  merchants,  do  grant,  for  ourselves  and  our  heirs, 
that  the  same  lord  the  king  and  his  heirs  in  each  and  every  one 
of  our  ports  in  Ireland,  both  within  our  liberties  and  without,  shall 
have  a  half  mark  from  each  sack  of  wool,  and  a  half  mark  from 
each  three  hundred  woolfells,  which  make  a  sack,  and  one  mark 
from  each  last  of  leather,  exported  from  the  land  of  Ireland,  to  be 
collected  by  the  hand  of  the  wardens  and  bailiffs  of  the  said  king, 
saving  to  us  the  forfeiture  of  those  who,  without  licence  and  war- 
rant of  the  said  lord  the  king,  by  his  letters  patent  signed  by  his 
seal  for  this  provided,  shall  have  presumed  to  carry  out  of  Ireland 
wool,  woolfells,  or  leather  of  this  sort,  through  our  fiefs  where  we 
have  liberties.  From  which  the  aforesaid  lord  the  king  and  his 
heirs  shall  receive  and  have  the  half  mark  from  the  wool  and  wool- 
fells  and  the  mark  from  the  lasts  of  leather  in  the  form  aforesaid ; 
nevertheless  so  that  in  each  of  our  ports  where  the  writs  of  the 
aforesaid  lord  the  king  do  not  run,  two  of  the  more  discreet  and 
faithful  men  of  those  ports  shall  be  chosen  who,  upon  oath,  until 
the  merchants  of  the  aforesaid  wool,  woolfells,  and  leather  shall 
have  his  warrant  for  it  under  the  seal  of  the  lord  the  king  for  this 
provided,  shall  faithfully  collect  the  customs  from  the  wool,  wool- 
fells,  and  leather,  seized  in  the  said  ports,  and  shall  receive  them 
for  the  use  of  the  said  lord  the  king  and  shall  answer  to  him  for 
them. 

In  testimony  whereof,  we  have  set  our  seal  to  the  present  writ. 
Given  in  the  general  parliament  of  the  aforesaid  lord  the  king,  at 
Westminster  on  Sunday  the  feast  of  Saint  Dunstan  the  bishop,  in 
the  third  year  of  the  reign  of  the  said  king. 


39.     Writ  for  Distraint  of  Knighthood 

(June,  1278.     Latin  text,  Stubbs,  S.  C.  457.     Translation  by  Editors. 
2  Stubbs,  115,  221,  294.) 

THE  king  to  the  sheriff  of  Gloucestershire,  Greeting. 
We  order  and  straitly  enjoin  you,  that,  without  delay,  you 
distrain  all  those  in  your  bailiwick  who  have  twenty  pound  lands 
or  a  whole  knight's  fee  worth  twenty  pounds  a  year,  and  who  hold 
from  us  in  chief  and  ought  to  be  knights  and  are  not ;  that  before 
the  feast  of  the  Lord's  nativity  next  coming  or  at  the  same  feast, 
they  receive  the  insignia  of  knighthood  from  us :  also,  without 


Statute  of  Mortmain  or  De  Religiosis  71 

delay,  distrain  all  those  from  your  bailiwick  who  have  twenty 
pound  lands  or  a  whole  knight's  fee  worth  twenty  pounds  a  year, 
from  whomsoever  they  hold,  and  ought  to  be  knights  and  are  not, 
that  they  receive  insignia  of  the  same  sort  at  the  same  feast  or 
before  :  so  that  you  receive  from  the  same  good  and  sufficient 
security  for  it,  and  cause  the  names  of  all  of  them  to  be  written 
down  in  a  roll  upon  the  attestation  of  two  lawful  knights  of  the 
aforesaid  county,  and  to  be  transmitted  to  us,  without  delay,  under 
your  seal  and  the  seals  of  the  two  knights.  And  we  will  you  to 
know  that  we  will  make  prompt  visitation  upon  your  action  in  the 
execution  of  this  order  of  ours,  and  thereupon  we  shall  cause  suit- 
able remedy  to  be  made  for  it. 

Witness  the  king  at  Westminster,  the  twenty-sixth  day  of  June. 


40.     Statute  of  Mortmain  or  De  Religiosis 

(November,  1279.      Latin  text,  I  S.  R.  51,  Stubbs,  S.  C.  458.     Translation, 
i  5.^.51,  G.  and  H.8i.     2  Stubbs,  117.) 

THE  king  to  his  justices  of  the  bench,  Greeting. 
Where  of  late  it  was  provided,  that  religious  men  should 
not  enter  into  the  fees  of  any  without  licence  and  will  of  the  chief 
lords,  of  whom  such  fees  be  holden  immediately ;  and  notwith- 
standing such  religious  men  have  since  entered  as  well  into  their 
own  fees,  as  into  the  fees  of  other  men,  appropriating  and  buying 
them,  and  sometimes  receiving  them  of  the  gift  of  others,  whereby 
the  services  that  are  due  of  such  fees,  and  which  at  the  begin- 
ning were  provided  for  defence  of  the  realm,  are  wrongfully  with- 
drawn, and  the  chief  lords  do  lose  their  escheats  of  the  same :  we 
therefore,  to  the  profit  of  our  realm,  intending  to  provide  con- 
venient remedy,  by  the  advice  of  our  prelates,  earls,  barons,  and 
other  our  subjects,  being  of  our  council,  have  provided,  established, 
and  ordained,  that  no  person,  religious  or  other,  whatsoever  he  be, 
presume  to  buy  or  sell,  or  under  the  color  of  gift  or  lease,  or  by 
reason  of  any  other  title,  whatsoever  it  be,  to  receive  of  any  man, 
or  by  any  other  craft  or  device  to  appropriate  to  himself  any  lands 
or  tenements  under  pain  of  forfeiture  of  the  same  whereby  such 
lands  or  tenements  may  any  wise  come  into  mortmain.  We  have 
provided  also,  that  if  any  person,  religious  or  other,  do  presume 
in  any  manner  either  by  craft  or  device  to  offend  against  this 
statute,  it  shall  be  lawful  to  us  and  other  chief  lords  of  the  fee 


72  English  Constitutional  Documents 

immediate  to  enter  into  the  land  so  alienated,  within  a  year  from 
the  time  of  the  alienation,  and  to  hold  it  in  fee  and  inheritance. 
And  if  the  chief  lord  immediate  be  negligent,  and  will  not  enter 
into  such  fee  within  the  year,  then  it  shall  be  lawful  to  the  next 
chief  lord  immediate  of  the  same  fee  to  enter  into  the  same  fee 
within  half  a  year  next  following,  and  to  hold  it  as  before  is  said  ; 
and  so  every  lord  immediate  may  enter  into  such  fee  if  the  next 
lord  be  negligent  in  entering  into  the  same  fee,  as  is  aforesaid. 
And  if  all  the  chief  lords  of  such  fees,  being  of  full  age,  within  the 
four  seas,  and  out  of  prison,  be  negligent  or  slack  in  this  behalf, 
for  the  space  of  one  year,  we,  immediately  after  the  year  accom- 
plished, from  the  time  that  such  purchases,  gifts,  or  appropriations 
hap  to  be  made,  shall  take  such  lands  or  tenements  into  our  hand, 
and  shall  infeoff  other  therein  by  certain  services  to  be  done  for 
the  same  to  us  for  the  defence  of  our  realm ;  saving  to  the  chief 
lords  of  the  same  fees  their  wards  and  escheats,  and  other  things 
to  them  belonging,  and  the  services  for  the  same,  due  and  accus- 
tomed. And  therefore  we  command  you,  that  you  cause  the  afore- 
said statute  to  be  read  before  you,  and  from  henceforth  to  be  kept 
firmly  and  observed. 

Witness  myself  at  Westminster  the  fifteenth  day  of  November, 
the  seventh  year  of  our  reign. 


41.     The  Statute  of  Merchants,  or  of  Acton 
Burnell 

(October,  1283.     French  text  anc!  translation,  I  S.  R.  53.     2  Stubbs,  121.) 

FORASMUCH  as  merchants,  which  heretofore  have  lent  their 
goods  to  divers  persons,  be  greatly  impoverished,  because  there 
is  no  speedy  law  provided  for  them  to  have  recovery  of  their  debts 
at  the  day  of  payment  assigned ;  and  by  reason  hereof  many 
merchants  do  refrain  to  come  into  this  realm  with  their  merchan- 
dises, to  the  damage  as  well  of  the  merchants,  as  of  the  whole 
realm ;  the  king  by  himself  and  his  council  hath  ordained  and  es- 
tablished, that  the  merchant  which  will  be  sure  of  his  debt,  shall 
cause  his  debtor  to  come  before  the  mayor  of  London,  or  of  York, 
or  Bristol,  and  before  the  mayor  and  a  clerk,  which  the  king  shall 
appoint  for  the  same,  for  to  acknowledge  the  debt  and  the  day  of 
payment ;  and  the  recognizance  shall  be  entered  into  a  roll  with 
the  hand  of  the  said  clerk,  which  shall  be  known.  Moreover,  the 


The  Statute  of  Merchants,  or  of  Acton  Burnell     73 

said  clerk  shall  make  with  his  own  hand  a  bill  obligatory,  where- 
unto  the  seal  of  the  debtor  shall  be  put,  with  the  king's  seal,  that 
shall  be  provided  for  the  same  purpose,  the  which  seal  shall  remain 
in  the  keeping  of  the  mayor  and  clerk  aforesaid  :  and  if  the  debtor 
doth  not  pay  at  the  day  to  him  limited,  the  creditor  may  come 
before  the  said  mayor  and  clerk  with  his  bill  obligatory ;  and  if  it 
be  found  by  the  roll,  and  by  the  bill,  that  the  debt  was  acknowl- 
edged, and  that  the  day  of  payment  is  expired,  the  mayor  shall 
incontinent  cause  the  movables  of  the  debtor  to  be  sold,  as  far  as 
the  debt  doth  amount,  by  the  appraising  of  honest  men,  as  also 
chattels,  and  burgages  devisable,  until  the  whole  sum  of  the  debt ; 
and  the  money,  without  delay,  shall  be  paid  to  the  creditor.  And 
if  the  mayor  can  find  no  buyer,  he  shall  cause  the  movables  to  be 
delivered  to  the  creditor  at  a  reasonable  price,  as  much  as  doth 
amount  to  the  sum  of  the  debt,  in  allowance  of  his  debt :  and 
the  king's  seal  shall  be  put  unto  the  sale  and  deliverance  of  the 
burgages  devisable  for  a  perpetual  witness.  And  if  the  debtor 
have  no  movables  within  the  jurisdiction  of  the  mayor,  whereupon 
the  debt  may  be  levied,  but  hath  some  otherwhere  within  the 
realm,  then  shall  the  mayor  send  the  recognizance,  made  before 
him  and  the  clerk  aforesaid,  unto  the  chancellor,  under  the  seal 
aforesaid ;  and  the  chancellor  shall  direct  a  writ  unto  the  sheriff, 
in  whose  bailiwick  the  movables  of  the  debtor  be,  and  the  sheriff 
shall  cause  the  creditor  to  be  satisfied  in  such  form  as  it  is  pre- 
scribed that  the  mayor  should  have  done  in  case  that  the  mov- 
ables of  the  debtor  had  been  within  his  power ;  and  let  them  that 
shall  appraise  the  movable  goods,  to  be  delivered  unto  the  creditor, 
take  good  heed  that  they  do  set  a  just  and  reasonable  price  upon 
them ;  for  if  they  do  set  an  over  high  price  for  favor  borne  to  the 
debtor,  and  to  the  damage  of  the  creditor,  then  shall  the  thing  so 
appraised  be  delivered  unto  themselves  at  such  price  as  they  have 
limited,  and  they  shall  be  forthwith  answerable  unto  the  creditor 
for  his  debt.  And  if  the  debtor  will  say,  that  his  movable  goods 
were  delivered  or  sold  for  less  than  they  were  worth,  yet  shall  he 
have  no  remedy  thereby ;  forasmuch  as  the  mayor  or  the  sheriff 
hath  sold  the  movable  goods  lawfully  to  him  that  offered  most; 
for  he  may  blame  himself,  that  before  the  day  of  the  suit  he  had 
it  in  his  power  to  have  sold  his  movable  goods,  and  to  have  levied 
the  money  with  his  own  hand,  and  yet  he  would  not.  And  if  the 
debtor  have  no  movables  whereupon  the  debt  may  be  levied,  then 
shall  his  body  be  taken  where  it  may  be  found,  and  kept  in  prison 
until  that  he  have  made  agreement,  or  his  friends  for  him ;  and  if 
he  have  not  of  his  own  wherewith  he  may  sustain  himself  in  prison, 


74  English  Constitutional  Documents 

the  creditor  shall  find  him  bread  and  water,  to  the  end  that  he  die 
not  in  prison  for  default  of  sustenance,  the  which  costs  the  debtor 
shall  recompense  him  with  his  debt,  before  that  he  be  let  out  of 
prison.  And  if  the  creditor  be  a  merchant  stranger,  he  shall  re- 
main at  the  costs  of  the  debtor  for  so  long  time  as  he  shall  be  su- 
ing for  the  levying  of  his  debt,  until  the  day  that  the  movable 
goods  of  the  debtor  be  sold  or  delivered  unto  him.  And  if  the 
creditor  do  not  content  himself  with  the  debtor  alone  for  the 
surety  of  his  payment,  by  reason  whereof  pledges  or  mainpernors 
be  founden,  then  those  pledges  or  mainpernors  shall  come  before 
the  mayor  and  clerk  abovesaid,  and  shall  bind  themselves  by  writ- 
ings and  recognizances,  as  afore  is  said  of  the  debtor.  And  in 
like  manner  if  the  debt  be  not  paid  at  the  day  limited,  such  exe- 
cution shall  be  awarded  against  the  pledges  or  mainpernors,  as  be- 
fore is  said  of  the  debtor ;  provided  nevertheless,  that  so  long  as 
the  debt  may  be  fully  taken  and  levied  of  the  goods  movable  of 
the  debtor,  the  mainpernors  or  pledges  shall  be  without  damage  : 
notwithstanding,  for  default  of  movable  goods  of  the  debtor,  the 
creditor  shall  have  his  recovery  against  the  mainpernors  or  pledges, 
in  such  manner  and  form  as  before  is  limited  against  the  principal 
debtor. 

And  to  defray  the  charge  of  the  aforesaid  clerk,  the  king  shall 
take  out  of  every  pound  one  penny.  This  ordinance  and  act  the 
king  willeth  to  be  holden  from  henceforth  throughout  all  his 
realm  of  England,  among  all  persons  whosoever  they  may  be,  who 
shall  freely  choose  to  make  such  recognizance ;  except  Jews,  to 
whom  this  statute  extendeth  not. 

And  by  this  statute  a  writ  of  debt  shall  not  be  abated.  And  the 
chancellor,  barons  of  the  exchequer,  justices  of  the  one  bench  and 
of  the  other,  and  justices  errants,  shall  not  be  estopped  to  take 
recognizances  of  debts  of  those  who  shall  choose  so  to  do  before 
them ;  but  the  execution  of  recognizances  before  them  shall  not 
be  made  according  to  the  form  aforesaid,  but  according  to  law, 
usage,  and  manner  heretofore  used. 

Given  at  Acton  Burnell,  the  twelfth  day  of  October  in  the 
eleventh  year  of  our  reign. 


The  Statutes  of  Westminster ;  the  Second      75 


Ol 


42.     The  Statutes  of  Westminster ;  the  Second 

(June,  1285.    Latin  text  and  translation,  i  S.  K,  71.    2  Stubbs,  122.    Clause  I., 
here  given,  is  known  as  De  donis  conditionalibus.) 

R  lord  the  king  in  his  parliament,  after  the  feast  of 
Easter,  holden  the  thirteenth  year  of  his  reign  at 
Westminster,  *  *  *  did  provide  certain  acts,  as  shall  appear  here 
'  following. 

First,  Concerning  lands  that  many  times  are  given  upon  condi- 
tion, that  is  to  wit,  where  any  giveth  his  land  to  any  man  and  his 
wife,  and  to  the  heirs  begotten  of  the  bodies  of  the  same  man  and 
his  wife,  with  such  condition  expressed  that  if  the  same  man  and 
his  wife  die  without  heir  of  their  bodies  between  them  begotten, 
the  land  so  given  shall  revert  to  the  giver  or  his  heir :  In  case 
also  where  one  giveth  lands  in  free  marriage,  which  gift  hath  a 
condition  annexed,  though  it  be  not  expressed  in  the  deed  of  gift, 
which  is  this,  that  if  the  husband  and  wife  die  without  heir  of 
their  bodies  begotten,  the  land  so  given  shall  revert  to  the  giver 
or  his  heir :  in  case  also  where  one  giveth  land  to  another,  and 
the  heirs  of  his  body  issuing;  it  seemed  very  hard,  and  yet 
seemeth  to  the  givers  and  their  heirs,  that  their  will  being  ex- 
pressed in  the  gift,  was  not  heretofore,  nor  yet  is  observed :  for 
in  all  the  cases  aforesaid,  after  issue  begotten  and  born  between 
them,  to  whom  the  lands  were  given  under  such  condition,  here- 
tofore such  feoffees  had  power  to  aliene  the  land  so  given,  and  to 
disherit  their  issue  of  the  land,  contrary  to  the  minds  of  the  givers, 
and  contrary  to  the  form  expressed  in  the  gift :  and  further,  when 
the  issue  of  such  feoffee  is  failing,  the  land  so  given  ought  to 
return  to  the  giver,  or  his  heir,  by  form  of  the  gift  expressed  in 
the  deed  though  the  issue,  if  any  were,  had  died  :  yet  by  the  deed 
and  feoffment  of  them,  to  whom  land  was  so  given  upon  condi- 
tion, the  donors  have  heretofore  been  barred  of  their  reversion, 
which  was  directly  repugnant  to  the  form  of  the  gift :  wherefore 
our  lord  the  king,  perceiving  how  necessary  and  expedient  it 
should  be  to  provide  remedy  in  the  aforesaid  cases,  hath  ordained, 
that  the  will  of  the  giver,  according  to  the  form  in  the  deed  of 
gift  manifestly  expressed,  shall  be  from  henceforth  observed ;  so 
that  they  to  whom  the  land  was  given  under  such  condition,  shall 
have  no  power  to  aliene  the  land  so  given,  but  that  it  shall  remain 
unto  the  issue  of  them  to  whom  it  was  given  after  their  death,  or 
unto  the  giver  or  his  heirs,  if  issue  fail  either  by  reason  that  there 


76  English  Constitutional  Documents 

B  no  issue  at  all,  or  if  any  issue  be,  it  fail  by  death,  the  heir  of 
such  issue  failing.  Neither  shall  the  second  husband  of  any  such 
woman,  from  henceforth,  have  any  thing  in  the  land  so  given 
upon  condition,  after  the  death  of  his  wife,  by  the  law  of  England, 
nor  the  issue  of  the  second  husband  and  wife  shall  succeed  in  the 
inheritance,  but  immediately  after  the  death  of  the  husband  and 
wife,  to  whom  the  land  was  so  given,  it  shall  return  to  their  issue, 
or  to  the  giver,  or  his  heir,  as  before  is  said.  *  *  *  And  it  is  to 
wit  that  this  statute  shall  hold  place  touching  alienation  of  land 
'contrary  to  the  form  of  the  gift  hereafter  to  be  made,  and  shall' 
not  extend  to  gifts  made  before.  And  if  a  fine  be  levied  here- 
after upon  such  lands,  it  shall  be  void  in  the  law ;  neither  shall 
the  heirs,  or  such  as  the  reversion  belongeth  unto,  though  if  they 
be  of  full  age,  within  England,  and  out  of  prison,  need  to  make 
their  claim.  *  *  * 

XXIV.        ********* 

And  whensoever  from  henceforth  it  shall  fortune  in  the  chan- 
cery, that  in  one  case  a  writ  is  found,  and  in  like  case  falling 
under  like  law,  and  requiring  like  remedy,  is  found  none,  the 
clerks  of  the  chancery  shall  agree  in  making  the  writ,  or  shall 
adjourn  the  plaintiffs  until  the  next  parliament  and  write  the  cases 
in  which  they  cannot  agree,  and  refer  them  to  the  next  parliament, 
and  by  consent  of  men  learned  in  the  law,  a  writ  shall  be  made, 
lest  it  might  happen  hereafter  that  the  court  should  long  time  fail 
to  minister  justice  unto  complainants. 


43.   The  Statute  of  Winchester 

(October,   1285.     French   text  and  translation,  I    S.  £.  96,  Stubbs,  S.  C. 
470-472.     2  Stubbs,  122,  219.) 

i.  FORASMUCH  as  from  day  to  day,  robberies,  murders,  and 
arsons  be  more  often  used  than  they  have  been  heretofore,  and 
felons  cannot  be  attainted  by  the  oath  of  jurors  which  had  rather 
suffer  felonies  done  to  strangers  to  pass  without  pain,  than  to 
indite  the  offenders  of  whom  great  part  be  people  of  the  same 
country,  or  at  least  if  the  offenders  be  of  another  country  the 
receivers  be  of  places  near ;  and  they  do  the  same  because  an 
oath  is  not  put  unto  jurors ;  nor  upon  the  country  where  such 
felonies  were  done  as  to  the  restitution  of  damages,  hitherto  no 


The  Statute  of  Winchester  77 

pain  hath  been  limited  for  their  concealment  and  laches;  our 
lord  the  king,  for  to  abate  the  power  of  felons,  hath  established  a 
pain  in  this  case,  so  that  from  henceforth,  for  fear  of  the  pain  more 
than  for  fear  of  any  oath,  they  shall  not  spare  any  nor  conceal  any 
felonies ;  and  doth  command  that  cries  be  solemnly  made  in  all 
counties,  hundreds,  markets,  fairs,  and  all  other  places  where  great 
resort  of  people  is,  so  that  none  shall  excuse  himself  by  ignorance, 
that  from  henceforth  every  country  be  so  well  kept  that  immedi- 
ately upon  such  robberies  and  felonies  committed  fresh  suits  shall 
be  made  from  town  to  town  and  from  country  to  country. 

2.  Likewise  when  need  requires,  inquests  shall  be  made  in 
towns  by  him  that  is  lord  of  the  town,  and  after  in  the  hundred 
and  in  the  franchise  and  in  the  county,  and  sometimes  in  two, 
three,  or  four  counties,  in  case  when  felonies  shall  be  committed 
in  the  marches  of  shires,  so  that  the  offenders  may  be  attainted. 
And  if  the  country  will  not  answer  for  such  manner  of  offenders, 
the  pain  shall  be  such,  that  every  country,  that  is  to  wit,  the 
people  dwelling  in  the  country,  shall  be  answerable  for  the  rob- 
beries done  and  also  the  damages :  so  that  the  whole  hundred 
where  the  robbery  shall  be  done,  with  the  franchises  being  within 
the  precinct  of  the  same  hundred,  shall  be  answerable  for  the  rob- 
beries done.    And  if  the  robbery  be  done  in  the  division  of  two 
hundreds,  both  the  hundreds  and  the  franchises  within  them  shall 
be  answerable ;  and  after  that  the  felony  or  robbery  is  done,  the 
country  shall  have  no  longer  space  than  forty  days,  within  which 
forty  days  it  shall  behoove  them  to  agree  for  the  robbery  or  offence, 
or  else  that  they  will  answer  for  the  bodies  of  the  offenders. 

3.  And  forasmuch  as  the  king  will  not  that  his  people  should 
be  suddenly  impoverished  by  reason  of  this  penalty,  that  seemeth 
very  hard  to  many,  the  king  granteth  that  it  shall  not  be  incurred 
immediately,  but  it  shall  be  respited  until  Easter  next  following, 
within  which  time  the  king  may  see  how  the  country  will  order 
themselves,  and  whether  such  felonies  and  robberies  do  cease. 
After  which  term  let  them  all  be  assured  that  the  aforesaid  penalty 
shall  run  generally;  that  is  to  say,  every  country,  that  is  to  wit,' 
the  people  in  the  country,  shall  be  answerable  for  felonies  and 
robberies  done  among  them. 

4.  And  for  the  more  surety  of  the  country,  the  king  hath  com- 
manded that  in  great  towns  being  walled,  the  gates  shall  be  closed 
from  the  sun-setting  until  the  sun-rising ;  and  that  no  man  do 
lodge  in  suburbs,  nor  in  the  edges  of  the  town,  except  in  the  day- 
time, nor  yet  in  the  day-time,  unless  his  host  will  answer  for  him ; 
and  the  bailiffs  of  towns  every  week,  or  at  the  least  every  fifteenth 


7,8  English  Constitutional   Documents 

day,  shall  make  inquiry  of  all  persons  being  lodged  in  the  suburbs 
or  the  edges  of  the  towns ;  and  if  they  do  find  any  that  have 
received  or  lodged  in  any  other  way  people  of  whom  there  may  be 
suspicion  that  they  are  against  the  peace,  the  bailiffs  shall  do  right 
therein.  And  the  king  commandeth,  that  from  henceforth  all 
watches  be  made  as  it  hath  been  used  in  times  past,  that  is  to  wit, 
from  the  day  of  the  Ascension  unto  the  day  of  Saint  Michael,  in 
every  city  by  six  men  at  every  gate ;  in  every  borough,  by  twelve 
men ;  in  every  town,  by  six  or  four,  according  to  the  number  of 
the  inhabitants  of  the  town,  and  they  shall  keep  the  watch  con- 
tinually all  night  from  the  sun-setting  unto  the  sun-rising.  And 
if  any  stranger,  do  pass  by  them  he  shall  be  arrested  until  morn- 
ing ;  and  if  no  suspicion  be  found  he  shall  go  quit ;  and  if  they 
find  cause  of  suspicion,  they  shall  forthwith  deliver  him  to  the 
sheriff,  and  the  sheriff  shall  receive  him  without  delay,  and  shall 
keep  him  safely,  until  he  be  delivered  in  due  manner.  And  if 
they  will  not  obey  the  arrest,  they  shall  levy  hue  and  cry  upon 
them,  and  such  as  keep  the  watch  shall  follow  them  with  all  the 
town  and  the  towns  near,  with  hue  and  cry  from  town  to  town, 
until  that  they  be  taken  and  delivered  to  the  sheriff  as  before  is 
said ;  and  for  the  arrestments  of  such  strangers  none  shall  be 
punished. 

5.  And  further,  it  is  commanded  that  highways  leading  from 
one  market  town  to  another  shall  be  enlarged,  whereas  woods, 
hedges,  or  dykes  be,  so  that  there  be  neither  dyke,  underwood, 
nor  bush  whereby  a  man  may  lurk  to  do  hurt,  near  to  the  way, 
within  two  hundred  foot  of  the  one  side  and  two  hundred  foot  on 
the  other  side ;  so  that  this  statute  shall  not  extend  unto  oaks,  nor 
unto  great  trees,  so  as  it  shall  be  clear  underneath.     And  if  by 
default  of  the  lord  that  will  not  abate  the  dyke,  underwood,  or 
bushes,  in  the  manner  aforesaid,  any  robberies  be  done  therein, 
the  lord  shall  be  answerable  for  the  felony  ;  and  if  murder  be  done 
the  lord  shall  make  a  fine  at  the  king's  pleasure.     And  if  the  lord  be 
not  able  to  fell  the  underwoods,  the  country  shall  aid  him  therein. 
And  the  king  willeth  that  in  his  demesne  lands  and  woods,  within 
his  forest  and  without,  the  ways  shall  be  enlarged  as  before  is  said. 
And  if  perchance  a  park  be  near  to  the  highway,  it  is  requisite  that 
the  lord  shall  minish  his  park  so  that  there  be  a  border  of  two 
hundred  foot  near  the  highway,  as  before  is  said,  or  that  he  make 
such  a  wall,  dyke,  or  hedge  that  offenders  may  not  pass,  nor  return 
to  do  evil. 

6.  And  further  it  is  commanded  that  every  man  have  in  his  house 
harness  for  to  keep  the  peace  after  the  ancient  assize ;    that  is  to 


The  Statute  of  Winchester  79 

say,  every  man  between  fifteen  years  of  age  and  sixty  years,  shall 
be  assessed  and  sworn  to  armor  according  to  the  quantity  of  their 
lands  and  goods ;  that  is  to  wit,  for  fifteen  pounds  lands,  and 

foods  of  forty  marks,  an  hauberke,  an  helm  of  iron,  a  lance,  a 
nife,  and  a  horse  ;  and  for  ten  pounds  of  lands,  and  twenty  marks 
goods,  an  hauberke,  an  helme  of  iron,  a  lance,  and  a  knife  ;  and 
for  five  pound  lands,  a  doublet,  an  helme  of  iron,  a  lance,  and  a 
knife ;  and  from  forty  shillings  of  land  and  more  up  to  one  hun- 
dred shillings,  a  lance,  a  bow  and  arrows,  and  a  knife  ;  and  he  that 
hath  less  than  forty  shillings  yearly  shall  be  sworn  to  fakes,  gisarmes, 
knives,  and  other  small  arms ;  and  he  that  hath  less  than  twenty 
marks  in  goods,  shall  have  swords,  knives,  and  other  small  arms ; 
and  all  other  that  may  shall  have  bows  and  arrows  out  of  the  for- 
est, and  in  the  forest  bows  and  pilets.  And  that  view  of  armor  be 
made  every  year  two  times.  And  in  every  hundred  and  franchise 
two  constables  shall  be  chosen  to  make  the  view  of  armor ;  and 
the  constables  aforesaid  shall  present  before  justices  assigned,  when 
they  shall  come  into  the  country,  such  defaults  as  they  shall  have 
found  about  armor,  and  of  suits,  and  of  watches,  and  of  highways ; 
and  also  shall  present  all  such  as  do  lodge  strangers  in  uplandish 
towns,  for  whom  they  will  not  answer.  And  the  justices  assigned 
shall  present  at  every  parliament  unto  the  king  such  defaults  as 
they  shall  find,  and  the  king  shall  provide  remedy  therein.  And 
from  henceforth  let  the  sheriffs  take  good  heed,  and  bailiffs  within 
franchises  and  without,  greater  or  lesser,  that  have  any  bailiwick 
or  forestry  in  fee  or  otherwise,  that  they  shall  follow  the  cry  with 
the  country,  as  they  are  able,  having  horses  and  armor  so  to  do ; 
and  if  there  be  any  that  do  not,  the  defaults  shall  be  presented  by 
the  constables  to  the  justices  assigned,  and  after  by  them  to  the 
king ;  and  the  king  will  provide  remedy  as  before  is  said.  And 
the  king  commandeth  and  forbiddeth  that  from  henceforth  neither 
fairs  nor  markets  be  kept  in  churchyards,  for  the  honor  of  the 
church. 

Given  at  Winchester,  the  eighth  of  October,  in  the  thirteenth 
year  of  the  reign  of  the  king. 


8o  English  Constitutional  Documents 

44.  The  Statute  of  Circumspecte  Agatis 

(c.  1285.  Latin  text  and  translation,  i  S.  R.  101.  Translation  G.  and  H.  83, 
is  followed  here.  2  Stubbs,  123.  This  so-called  statute  seems  to  be  the 
combination  of  the  writ  Circumspecte  Agatis,  which  forms  the  first  para- 
graph, and  another  document  of  uncertain  date.  The  statute  occurs  in 
various  forms  and  with  various  readings  in  the  different  manuscripts  and 
printed  copies  ;  which  have  been  collated  to  form  the  texts  cited  above.) 

THE  king  to  such  and  such  judges,  Greeting. 
See  that  ye  act  circumspectly  in  the  matter  touching  the 
bishop  of  Norwich  and  his  clergy,  in  not  punishing  them  if  they 
shall  hold  pleas  in  the  court  Christian  concerning  those  things  which 
are  merely  spiritual,  to  wit :  —  concerning  corrections  which  prel- 
ates inflict  for  deadly  sin,  to  wit,  for  fornication,  adultery,  and 
such  like,  for  which,  sometimes  corporal  punishment  is  inflicted, 
and  sometimes  pecuniary,  especially  if  a  freeman  be  convicted  of 
such  things. 

Item  if  a  prelate  impose  a  penalty  for  not  enclosing  a  church- 
yard, leaving  the  church  uncovered  or  without  proper  ornament, 
in  which  cases  no  other  than  a  pecuniary  fine  can  be  inflicted. 

Item  if  a  rector  demand  the  greater  or  the  lesser  tithe,  provided 
the  fourth  part  of  any  church  be  not  demanded. 

Item  if  a  rector  demand  a  mortuary  in  places  where  a  mortuary 
has  been  usually  given. 

Item  if  a  prelate  of  any  church  demand  a  pension  from  the 
rector  as  due  to  him  :  —  all  such  demands  are  to  be  made  in  the 
ecclesiastical  court. 

Concerning  laying  violent  hands  on  a  clerk,  and  in  case  of 
defamation,  it  has  been  granted  formerly  that  pleas  thereof  may  be 
held  in  the  court  Christian,  provided  money  be  not  demanded ; 
but  proceedings  may  be  taken  for  the  correction  of  the  sin ;  and 
likewise  for  breach  of  faith.  In  all  these  cases  the  ecclesiastical 
judge  has  to  take  cognizance,  the  king's  prohibition  notwithstand- 
ing, although  it  be  put  forward. 

Wherefore  laymen  generally  obtain  a  prohibition  for  tithes,  obla- 
tions, mortuaries,  redemptions  of  penances,  laying  violent  hands 
on  a  clerk  or  a  lay-brother,  and  in  case  of  defamation,  in  which 
cases  proceedings  are  taken  to  exact  canonical  punishment. 

The  lord  the  king  made  answer  to  these  articles,  that  in  tithes, 
obventions,  oblations,  and  mortuaries,  when  proceedings  are  taken, 
as  is  aforesaid,  there  is  no  place  for  prohibition.  And  if  a  clerk 
or  religious  person  shall  sell  for  money  to  any  one  his  tithes  stored 


The  Statutes  of  Westminster ;  the  Third      8 1 

in  the  barn,  or  being  elsewhere,  and  be  impleaded  in  the  court 
Christian,  the  royal  prohibition  has  place,  for  by  reason  of  sales, 
spiritual  things  are  temporal,  and  then  tithes  pass  into  chattels. 

Item  if  dispute  arise  concerning  the  right  of  tithes,  having  its 
origin  in  the  right  of  patronage,  and  the  quantity  of  these  tithes 
exceeds  the  fourth  part  of  the  church,  the  king's  prohibition  has 
place. 

Item  if  a  prelate  impose  pecuniary  penalty  on  any  one  for  sin, 
and  demand  the  money,  the  king's  prohibition  has  place,  if  the 
money  is  exacted  before  prelates. 

Item  if  any  one  shall  lay  violent  hands  on  a  clerk,  amends  must 
be  made  for  a  breach  of  the  peace  of  the  lord  the  king,  before  the 
king,  and  for  excommunication  before  the  bishop  ;  and  if  corporal 
penalty  be  imposed  which,  if  the  defendant  will,  he  may  redeem 
by  giving  money  to  the  prelate  or  person  injured,  neither  in  such 
cases  is  there  place  for  prohibition. 

In  defamations  of  freemen  let  the  prelates  correct,  the  king's 
prohibition  notwithstanding,  although  it  be  tendered. 


45.  The   Statutes  of  Westminster ;    the  Third : 
Quia  Emptores 

(July,  1290.     Latin  text,  I  S.  R.  106,  Stubbs,  S.  C.  478.    Translation,  I  S.  R. 
106.     2  Stubbs,  126,  259.) 

i.  FORASMUCH  as  purchasers  of  lands  and  tenements  of  the  fees 
of  great  men  and  others,  have  many  times  heretofore  entered  into 
their  fees,  to  the  prejudice  of  the  lords,  to  which  purchasers  the 
freeholders  of  such  great  men  and  others  have  sold  their  lands  and 
tenements  to  be  holden  in  fee  to  them  and  their  heirs  of  their 
feoffers,  and  not  of  the  chief  lords  of  the  fees,  whereby  the  same 
chief  lords  have  many  times  lost  their  escheats,  marriages,  and 
wardships  of  lands  and  tenements  belonging  to  their  fees ;  which 
thing  seeme'd  very  hard  and  extreme  unto  those  great  men  and 
other  lords,  and  moreover  in  this  case  manifest  disheritance  :  our 
lord  the  king,  in  his  parliament  at  Westminster  after  Easter,  the 
eighteenth  year  of  his  reign,  that  is  to  wit,  in  the  quinzime  of 
Saint  John  the  Baptist,  at  the  instance  of  the  great  men  of  the 
realm,  granted,  provided,  and  ordained,  that  from  henceforth  it 
shall  be  lawful  to  every  freeman  to  sell  at  his  own  pleasure  his 
lands  and  tenements,  or  part  of  them ;  so  that  the  feoffee  shall 
G 


82  English  Constitutional  Documents 

hold  the  same  lands  or  tenements  of  the  same  chief  lord,  and  by 
the  same  services  and  customs  as  his  feoffor  held  before. 

2.  And  if  he  shall  sell  any  part  of  such  lands  or  tenements  to 
any,  the  feoffee  shall  immediately  hold  it  of  the  chief  lord,  and 
shall  be  forthwith  charged  with  the  services,  for  so  much  as  per- 
taineth,  or  ought  to  pertain  to  the  said  chief  lord  for  the  same 
parcel,  according  to  the  quantity  of  the  land  or  tenement  sold. 
And  so  in  this  case  the  same  part  of  the  service  shall  cease  to  be 
taken  by  the  chief  lord  by  the  hands  of  the  feoffor,  from  the  time 
that  the  feoffee  ought  to  be  attendant  and  answerable  to  the  same 
chief  lord,  according  to  the  quantity  of  the  land  or  tenement  sold, 
for  the  parcel  of  the  service  so  due. 

3.  And  it  is  to  be  understood,  that  by  the  said  sales  or  pur- 
chases of  lands  or  tenements,  or  any  parcels  of  them,  such  lands 
or  tenements  shall  in  no  wise  come  into  mortmain,  either  in  part 
or  in  whole,  neither  by  policy  nor  craft,  contrary  to  the  form  of 
the  statute  made  thereupon  of  late.     And  it  is  to  wit,  that  this 
statute  extendeth  but  only  to  lands  sold  to  be  holden  in  fee  simple ; 
and  that  it  extendeth  to  the  time  coming ;  and  it  shall  begin  to 
take  effect  at  the  feast  of  Saint  Andrew  the  apostle  next  coming. 


46.  Writs  of  Summons  to  Parliament 

(30  September -3  October,  1295.     Latin  text,  Stubbs,  S.  (7.484.    Transla- 
tion, Cheyney,  33.     2  Stubbs,  133,  209,  211,  235.) 

Summons  of  the  Clergy 

THE  King  to  the  venerable  father  in  Christ  Robert,  by  the  same 
grace  archbishop  of  Canterbury,  primate  of  all  England,  greet- 
ing. As  a  most  just  law,  established  by  the  careful  providence  of 
sacred  princes,  exhorts  and  decrees  that  what  affects  all,  by  all 
should  be  approved,  so  also,  very  evidently  should  common  danger 
be  met  by  means  provided  in  common.  You  know  sufficiently 
well,  and  it  is  now,  as  we  believe,  divulged  through  all  regions  of 
the  world,  how  the  king  of  France  fraudulently  and  craftily  de- 
prives us  of  our  land  of  Gascony,  by  withholding  it  unjustly  from 
us.  Now,  however,  not  satisfied  with  the  before-mentioned  fraud 
and  injustice,  having  gathered  together  for  the  conquest  of  our 
kingdom  a  very  great  fleet,  and  an  abounding  multitude  of  warri- 
ors, with  which  he  has  made  a  hostile  attack  on  our  kingdom  and 
the  inhabitants  of  the  same  kingdom,  he  now  proposes  to  destroy 


Writs  of  Summons  to  Parliament  83 

the  English  language  altogether  from  the  earth,  if  his  power  should 
correspond  to  the  detestable  proposition  of  the  contemplated 
injustice,  which  God  forbid.  Because,  therefore,  darts  seen  before- 
hand do  less  injury,  and  your  interest  especially,  as  that  of  the  rest 
of  the  citizens  of  the  same  realm,  is  concerned  in  this  affair,  we 
command  you,  strictly  enjoining  you  in  the  fidelity  and  love  in 
which  you  are  bound  to  us,  that  on  the  Lord's  day  next  after  the 
feast  of  St.  Martin,  in  the  approaching  winter,  you  be  present  in 
person  at  Westminster;  citing  beforehand  [praemunientes]  th«- 
dean  and  chapter  of  your  church,  the  archdeacons  and  all  the 
clergy  of  your  diocese,  causing  the  same  dean  and  archdeacons  in 
their  own  persons,  and  the  said  chapter  by  one  suitable  proctor, 
and  the  said  clergy  by  two,  to  be  present  along  with  you,  having 
full  and  sufficient  power  from  the  same  chapter  and  clergy,  to  con- 
sider, ordain  and  provide,  along  with  us  and  with  the  rest  of  the 
prelates  and  principal  men  and  other  inhabitants  of  our  kingdom, 
how  the  dangers  and  threatened  evils  of  this  kind  are  to  be  met. 
Witness  the  king  at  Wangham,  the  thirtieth  day  of  September. 

Identical  summons  were  sent  out  to  the  two  archbishops  and 
eighteen  bishops,  and,  with  the  omission  of  the  last  paragraph,  to 
seventy  abbots. 

Summons  of  the  Barons 

The  king  to  his  beloved  and  faithful  relative,  Edmund,  Earl  of 
Cornwall,  greeting.  Because  we  wish  to  have  a  consultation  and 
meeting  with  you  and  with  the  rest  of  the  principal  men  of  our 
kingdom,  as  to  provision  for  remedies  against  the  dangers  which 
in  these  days  are  threatening  our  whole  kingdom ;  we  command 
you,  strictly  enjoining  you  in  the  fidelity  and  love  in  which  you  are 
bound  to  us,  that  on  the  Lord's  day  next  after  the  feast  of  St. 
Martin,  in  the  approaching  winter,  you  be  present  in  person  at 
Westminster,  for  considering,  ordaining  and  doing  along  with  us 
and  with  the  prelates,  and  the  rest  of  the  principal  men  and  other 
inhabitants  of  our  kingdom,  as  may  be  necessary  for  meeting 
dangers  of  this  kind. 

Witness  the  king  at  Canterbury,  the  first  of  October. 

Similar  summons  were  sent  to  seven  earls  and  forty-one  barons. 

Summons  of  Representatives  of  the  Counties  and  Boroughs 

The  king  to  the  sheriff  of  Northamptonshire.  Since  we  intend 
to  have  a  consultation  and  meeting  with  the  earls,  barons  and 
other  principal  men  of  our  kingdom  with  regard  to  providing 
remedies  against  the  dangers  which  are  in  these  days  threatening 


84  English  Constitutional  Documents 

the  same  kingdom ;  and  on  that  account  have  commanded  them 
to  be  with  us  on  the  Lord's  day  next  after  the  feast  of  St.  Martin 
in  the  approaching  winter,  at  Westminster,  to  consider,  ordain,  and 
do  as  may  be  necessary  for  the  avoidance  of  these  dangers ;  we 
strictly  require  you  to  cause  two  knights  from  the  aforesaid  county, 
two  citizens  from  each  city  in  the  same  county,  and  two  burgesses 
from  each  borough,  of  those  who  are  especially  discreet  and  capa- 
ble of  laboring,  to  be  elected  without  delay,  and  to  cause  them  to 
come  to  us  at  the  aforesaid  time  and  place. 

Moreover,  the  said  knights  are  to  have  full  and  sufficient  power 
for  themselves  and  for  the  community  of  the  aforesaid  county,  and 
the  said  citizens  and  burgesses  for  themselves  and  the  communities 
of  the  aforesaid  cities  and  boroughs  separately,  then  and  there  for 
doing  what  shall  then  be  ordained  according  to  the  common  coun- 
sel in  the  premises ;  so  that  the  aforesaid  business  shall  not  remain 
unfinished  in  any  way  for  defect  of  this  power.  And  you  shall  have 
there  the  names  of  the  knights,  citizens  and  burgesses  and  this 
writ. 

Witness  the  king  at  Canterbury  on  the  third  day  of  October. 

Identical  summons  were  sent  to  the  sheriffs  of  each  county. 


47.  The  Bull  "  Clericis  Laicos  " 

(February,  1296.       Latin  text,  Rymer's  Fcedera,  i.  836.    Translation, 
G.  and  H.  87.     2  Stubbs,  135.) 

"DONIFACE  bishop,  servant  of  the  servants  of  God,  for  the 
U  perpetual  memory  of  the  matter.  That  laymen  have  been 
very  hostile  to  clerks  antiquity  relates,  which  too  the  experiences 
of  the  present  times  manifestly  declare,  whilst  not  content  with 
their  own  bounds  they  strive  for  the  forbidden  and  loose  the 
reins  for  things  unlawful.  Nor  do  they  prudently  consider  how 
power  over  clerks  or  ecclesiastical  persons  or  goods  is  forbidden 
them  :  they  impose  heavy  burdens  on  the  prelates  of  the  churches 
and  ecclesiastical  persons  regular  and  secular,  and  tax  them,  and 
impose  collections  :  they  exact  and  demand  from  the  same  the 
half,  tithe,  or  twentieth,  or  any  other  portion  or  proportion  of 
their  revenues  or  goods ;  and  in  many  ways  they  essay  to  bring 
them  under  slavery,  and  subject  them  to  their  authority.  And, 
as  we  sadly  relate,  some  prelates  of  the  churches  and  ecclesiasti- 
cal persons,  alarmed  where  there  should  be  no  alarm,  seeking 


The  Bull  "Clericis  Laicos  "  85 

transient  peace,  fearing  more  to  offend  the  temporal  majesty  than 
the  eternal,  acquiesce  in  such  abuses,  not  so  much  rashly  as 
improvidently,  authority  or  licence  of  the  Apostolic  See  not  having 
been  obtained.  We  therefore  desirous  of  preventing  such  wicked 
actions,  do,  with  apostolic  authority  decree,  with  the  advice  of 
our  brethren,  that  whatsoever  prelates  and  ecclesiastical  persons, 
religious  or  secular,  of  whatsoever  orders,  condition  or  standing, 
shall  pay  or  promise  or  agree  to  pay  to  lay  persons  collections  or 
taxes  fbr  the  tithe,  twentieth,  or  hundredth  of  their  own  rents,  or 
goods,  or  those  of  the  churches,  or  any  other  portion,  propor- 
tion, or  quantity  of  the  same  rents,  or  goods,  at  their  own  estimate 
or  value,  under  the  name  of  aid,  loan,  relief,  subsidy,  or  gift,  or 
by  any  other  title,  manner,  or  pretext  demanded,  without  the 
authority  of  the  same  see. 

And  also  whatsoever  emperors,  kings,  or  princes,  dukes,  earls, 
or  barons,  powers,  captains,  or  officials,  or  rectors,  by  whatsoever 
names  they  are  reputed,  of  cities,  castles,  or  any  places  whatsoever, 
wheresoever  situate,  and  all  others  of  whatsoever  rank,  pre-emi- 
nence or  state,  who  shall  impose,  exact,  or  receive  the  things 
aforesaid,  or  arrest,  seise,  or  presume  to  occupy  things  anywhere 
deposited  in  holy  buildings,  or  to  command  them  to  be  arrested, 
seised,  or  occupied,  or  receive  them  when  occupied,  seised,  or 
arrested,  and  also  all  who  knowingly  give  aid,  counsel,  or  favor, 
openly  or  secretly,  in  the  things  aforesaid,  by  this  same  should 
incur  sentence  of  excommunication.  Universities,  too,  which 
may  have  been  to  blame  in  these  matters,  we  subject  to  ecclesias- 
tical interdict. 

The  prelates  and  ecclesiastical  persons  above  mentioned  we 
strictly  command,  in  virtue  of  their  obedience,  and  under  pain 
of  deposition,  that  they  in  no  wise  acquiesce  in  such  things  with- 
out express  licence  of  the  said  see,  and  that  they  pay  nothing 
under  pretext  of  any  obligation,  promise,  and  acknowledgement 
whatsoever,  made  so  far,  or  in  progress  heretofore,  and  before 
such  constitution,  prohibition,  or  order  come  to  their  notice,  and 
that  the  seculars  aforesaid  do  not  in  any  wise  receive  it,  and  if 
they  do  pay,  or  the  aforesaid,  let  them  fall  under  sentence  of  ex- 
communication by  the  very  deed. 

Moreover  let  no  one  be  absolved  from  the  aforesaid  sentences 
of  excommunication  and  interdict,  save  at  the  moment  of  death, 
without  authority  and  special  licence  of  the  Apostolic  See,  inas- 
much as  it  is  part  of  our  intention  that  such  a  terrible  abuse  of 
secular  powers  should  not  in  any  wise  pass  under  dissimulation, 
any  privileges  whatsoever  notwithstanding,  in  whatsoever  tenors, 


86  English  Constitutional   Documents 

forms  or  modes,  or  arrangement  of  words,  conceded  to  emperors, 
kings  and  the  others  aforesaid ;  against  which  premises  aforesaid 
we  will  that  aid  be  given  by  no  one,  and  by  no  persons  in  any 
respect. 

Let  it  then  be  lawful  to  none  at  all  to  infringe  this  page  of  our 
constitution,  prohibition,  or  order,  or  to  gainsay  it  by  any  rash 
attempt ;  and  if  any  one  presume  to  attempt  this,  let  him  know 
that  he  will  incur  the  indignation  of  Almighty  God,  and  of  his 
blessed  apostles  Peter  and  Paul. 

Given  at  Rome  in  Saint  Peter's  on  the  twenty-fourth  of  Feb- 
ruary in  the  second  year  of  our  pontificate. 


48.   Confirmatio  Cartarum 

(October,  1297.       French  text  and  translation,  I  S.  R.  123,  Stubbs,  S.  C. 
494-496.     2  Stubbs,  146.) 

EDWARD,  by  the   grace  of  God,  king  of  England,  lord  of 
Ireland,  and  duke  of  Guyenne,  to  all  those  that  these  present 
letters  shall  hear  or  see,  Greeting. 

1 .  Know  ye  that  we  to  the  honor  of  God,  and  of  holy  Church, 
and  to  the  profit  of  our  realm,  have  granted  for  us  and  our  heirs, 
that  the  great  Charter  of  Liberties,  and  the  Charter  of  the  Forest, 
which  were  made  by  common  assent  of  all  the  realm,  in  the  time 
of  king  Henry  our  father,  shall  be  kept  in  every  point  without 
breach.     And  we  will  that  the  same  charters  shall  be  sent  under 
our  seal,  as  well  to  our  justices  of  the  forest,  as  to  others,  and  to 
all  sheriffs  of  shires,  and  to  all  our  other  officers,  and  to  all  our 
cities  throughout  the  realm,  together  with  our  writs,  in  the  which 
it  shall  be  contained,  that  they  cause  the  foresaid  charters  to  be 
published,  and  to  declare  to  the  people  that  we  have  confirmed 
them  in  all  points  ;  and  to  our  justices,  sheriffs,  mayors,  and  other 
ministers,  which  under  us  and  by  us  have  the  laws  of  our  land  to 
guide,  that  they  shall  allow  the  same  charters  in  all  their  points, 
in  pleas  before  them,  and  in  judgments ;  that  is  to  wit,  the  Great 
Charter  as  the  common  law,  and  the  Charter  of  the  Forest  accord- 
ing to  the  ^Assize  of  the  forest,  for  the  wealth  of  our  realm. 

2.  And  we  will,  that  if  any  judgment  be  given  from  henceforth 
contrary  to  the  points  of  the  charters  aforesaid  by  the  justices,  or 
by  any  other  our  ministers  that  hold  plea  before  them  against  the 
points  of  the  charters,  it  shall  be  undone  and  holden  for  nought. 


Confirmatio  Cartarum  87 

3.  And  we  will,  that  the  same  charters  be  sent,  under  our  seal, 
to  cathedral  churches  throughout  our  realm,  there  to  remain,  and 
shall  be  read  before  the  people  two  times  by  the  year. 

4.  And  that  all  archbishops  and  bishops  shall  pronounce  the 
sentence  of  great  excommunication  against  all  those  that  by  deed, 
aid,  or  counsel  do  contrary  to  the  foresaid  charters,  or  that  in  any 
point  break  or  undo  them.     And  that  the  said  curses  be  twice  a 
year  denounced  and  published  by  the  prelates  aforesaid.     And  if 
the  same  prelates,  bishops,  or  any  of  them  be  remiss  in  the  denun- 
ciation of  the  said  sentences,  the  archbishops  of  Canterbury  and 
York  for  the  time  being,  as  is  fitting,  shall  compel  and  distrain 
them  to  make  that  denunciation  in  form  aforesaid. 

5.  And  for  so  much  as  divers  people  of  our  realm  are  in  fear, 
that  the  aids  and  tasks  which  they  have  given  to  us  beforetime 
towards  our  wars  and  other  business,  of  their  own  grant  and  good 
will,  howsoever  they  were  made,  might  turn  to  a  bondage  to  them 
and  their  heirs,  because  they  might  be  at  another  time  found  in 
the  rolls,  and  so  likewise  the  prises  taken  throughout  the  realm 
by  our  ministers  in  our  name ;  we  have  granted  for  us  and  our 
heirs,  that  we  shall  not  draw  such  aids,  tasks,  nor  prises  into  a 
custom,  for  any  thing  that  hath  been  done  heretofore,  or  that  may 
be  found  by  roll  or  in  any  other  manner. 

6.  Moreover  we  have  granted  for  us  and  our  heirs  as  well  to 
archbishops,  bishops,  abbots,  priors,  and  other  folk  of  holy  Church, 
as  also  to  earls,  barons,  and  to  all  the  commonalty  of  the  land, 
that  for  no  business  from  henceforth  we  shall  take  of  our  realm 
such  manner  of  aids,  tasks,  nor  prises,  but  by  the  common  assent 
of  all  the  realm,  and  for  the  common  profit  thereof,  saving  the 
ancient  aids  and  prises  due  and  accustomed. 

And  for  so  much  as  the  more  part  of  the  commonalty  of  the 
realm  find  themselves  sore  grieved  with  the  maletote  of  wools, 
that  is  to  wit,  a  toll  of  forty  shillings  for  every  sack  of  wool,  and 
have  made  petition  to  us  to  release  the  same  ;  we  at  their  requests 
have  clearly  released  it,  and  have  granted  that  we  will  not  take 
such  thing  nor  any  other  without  their  common  assent  and  good 
will ;  saving  to  us  and  our  heirs  the  custom  of  wools,  skins,  and 
leather,  granted  before  by  the  commonalty  aforesaid.  In  wit- 
ness of  which  things  we  have  caused  these  our  letters  to  be  made 
patents. 

Witness  Edward  our  son  at  London  the  tenth  day  of  October, 
the  five  and  twentieth  year  of  our  reign. 

And  be  it  remembered  that  this  same  charter,  in  the  same  terms, 
word  for  word,  was  sealed  in  Flanders  under  the  king's  great  seal, 


88  English  Constitutional  Documents 

that  is  to  say,  at  Ghent  the  fifth  day  of  November  in  the  twenty- 
fifth  year  of  the  reign  of  our  aforesaid  lord  the  king,  and  sent  into 
England. 


49.    De  Tallagio  non  Concedendo 

(1297.     Latin  text,  I  S.  R.  125,  Stubbs,  S.  C.  497.    Translation,  I  S.  R.  125. 
2  Stubbs,  148,  545.) 

1.  No  tallage  or  aid  shall  be  laid  or  levied  by  us  or  our  heirs 
in  our  realm,  without  the  good  will  and  assent  of  the  archbishops, 
bishops,  earls,  barons,  knights,  burgesses,  and  other  freemen  of 
our  realm. 

2.  No  officer  of  ours,  or  of  our  heirs,  shall  take  corn,  wool, 
leather,  or  any  other  goods,  of  any  manner  of  person,  without  the 
good  will  and  assent  of  the  party  to  whom  the  goods  belonged. 

3.  Nothing  from  henceforth  shall  be  taken  in  the  name  or  by 
occasion  of  maletote. 

4.  We  will  and  grant  for  us  and  our  heirs,  that  all  clerks  and 
laymen  of  our  land  shall  have  all  their  laws,  liberties,  and  free 
customs,  as  largely  and  wholly  as  they  have  used  to  have  the  same 
at  any  time  when  they  had  them  best  and  most  fully ;  and  if  any 
statutes  have  been  made  by  us  or  our  ancestors,  or  any  customs 
brought  in  contrary  to  them,  or  any  manner  of  article  contained 
in  this  present  charter,  we  will  and  grant,  that  such  manner  of 
statutes  and  customs  shall  be  void  and  frustrate  for  evermore. 

5.  Moreover,  we   have   pardoned   Humphrey  Bohun   earl   of 
Hereford  and  Essex,  constable  of  England,  Roger  Bigod,  earl  of 
Norfolk  and  Suffolk,  marshal  of  England,  and  other  earls,  barons, 
knights,  esquires,  and  namely  John  of  Ferrers,  with  all  other  being 
of  their  fellowship,  confederacy,  and  bond,  and  also  to  all  other 
that  hold  twenty  pound  land  in  our  realm,  whether  they  hold  of 
us  in  chief,  or  of  other,  that  were  appointed  at  a  day  certain  to 
pass  over  with  us  into  Flanders,  the  rancor  and  ill-will  which  for 
the  aforesaid  causes  we  conceived  against  them,  and  all  other 
offences,  if  any,  that  they  have  done  against  us  or  ours  unto  the 
making  of  this  present  charter. 

6.  And  for  the  more  assurance  of  this  thing,  we  will  and  grant, 
for   ourselves  and  our  heirs,   that   all   archbishops   and  bishops 
for  ever  in  their  cathedral  churches,  this  present  charter  being 
first  read,  shall  excommunicate,  and  publicly  in  the  several  parish 
churches  of  their  dioceses,  shall  cause  to  be  excommunicated,  or 


The  Statute  of  Carlisle  89 

to  be  declared  excommunicated  twice  in  the  year,  all  those  that 
willingly  do  or  procure  to  be  done  any  thing  contrary  to  the  tenor, 
force,  and  effect  of  this  present  charter  in  any  point  and  article. 
In  witness  of  which  thing  we  have  set  our  seal  to  this  present 
charter,  together  with  the  seals  of  the  archbishops,  bishops,  earls, 
barons,  and  others  which  voluntarily  have  sworn  that,  as  much  as 
in  them  is,  they  shall  observe  the  tenor  of  this  present  charter  in 
all  causes  and  articles,  and  shall  extend  their  faithful  aid  to  the 
keeping  thereof  forever. 


50.    The  Statute  of  Carlisle 

(March,  1307.     Latin  text  and  translation,  I  5.  R.  150.     G.  and  H.  92. 
2  Stubbs,  163.) 


late  it  came  to  the  knowledge  of  our  lord  the  king,  by  the 
grievous  complaint  of  the  honorable  persons,  lords,  and  other 
noblemen  of  his  realm,  that  whereas  monasteries,  priories,  and 
other  religious  houses  were  founded  to  the  honor  and  glory  of  God, 
and  the  advancement  of  the  holy  Church,  by  the  king  and  his 
progenitors,  and  by  the  said  noblemen  and  their  ancestors,  and  a 
very  great  portion  of  lands  and  tenements  have  been  given  by 
them  to  the  said  monasteries,  priories,  and  houses,  and  the  reli- 
gious men  serving  God  in  them,  to  the  intent  that  clerks  and  lay- 
men might  be  admitted  in  such  monasteries,  priories,  and  religious 
houses,  according  to  their  sufficient  ability,  and  that  sick  and  fee- 
ble men  might  be  maintained,  hospitality,  almsgiving,  and  other 
charitable  deeds  might  be  exercised  and  done  in  them  for  the 
souls  of  the  said  founders  and  their  heirs  ;  the  abbots,  priors,  and 
governors  of  the  said  houses,  and  certain  aliens  their  superiors,  as 
the  abbots  and  priors  of  the  Cluniacs,  Cistercians,  and  Premon- 
stratensians,  and  of  the  orders  of  Saint  Augustine,  and  Saint  Bene- 
dict, and  many  more  of  other  religion  and  order,  have  newly 
appointed  to  be  made,  and  at  their  own  pleasure  ordained  divers 
unwonted,  heavy,  and  intolerable  tallages,  payments,  and  imposi- 
tions upon  every  of  the  said  monasteries  and  houses  in  subjection 
unto  them  in  England,  Ireland,  Scotland,  and  Wales,  without  the 
privity  of  our  lord  the  king  and  his  nobility,  contrary  to  the  laws 
and  customs  of  the  said  realm  ;  and  thereby  the  number  of  reli- 
gious persons,  and  other  servants  in  the  said  houses  and  religious 
places  being  oppressed  by  such  tallages,  payments,  and  imposi- 
tions, the  service  of  God  is  diminished  ;  alms  are  withheld  from 


90  English  Constitutional  Documents 

the  poor,  the  sick,  and  feeble,  the  healths  of  the  living  and  the 
souls  of  the  dead  be  miserably  defrauded,  hospitality,  almsgiving, 
and  other  godly  deeds  do  cease ;  and  so  that  which  in  times  past 
was  charitably  given  to  godly  uses,  and  to  the  increase  of  the 
service  of  God,  is  now  converted  to  an  evil  tax ;  by  permission 
whereof  besides  those  things  which  are  before  mentioned,  there 
groweth  great  scandal  to  the  people,  and  infinite  losses  are  well 
known  to  have  ensued,  and  are  still  like  to  ensue,  to  the  dis- 
heritance  of  the  founders  of  the  said  houses  and  their  heirs,  unless 
speedy  and  sufficient  remedy  be  provided  to  redress  so  many  and 
grievous  detriments  :  -wherefore  our  foresaid  lord  the  king,  con- 
sidering that  it  would  be  very  prejudicial  to  him  and  his  people 
if  he  should  any  longer  suffer  so  great  losses  and  injuries  to  be 
winked  at,  and  therefore  being  willing  to  maintain  and  defend  the 
monasteries,  priories,  and  other  religious  houses  and  places  erected 
in  his  kingdom,  and  in  all  lands  subject  to  his  dominion,  accord- 
ing to  the  will  and  pious  wishes  of  their  founders,  and  from  hence- 
forth to  provide  sufficient  remedy  to  reform  such  oppressions,  as 
he  is  bound,  by  the  counsel  of  his  earls,  barons,  great  men,  and 
other  nobles  and  of  the  commons  of  his  kingdom  in  his  parlia- 
ment holden  at  Westminster,  on  the  Sunday  next  after  the  feast 
of  Saint  Matthias  the  apostle,  in  the  three  and  thirtieth  year  of 
his  reign,  did  ordain  and  enact : 

2.  "That  no  abbot,  prior,  master,  warden,  or  other  religious 
person,  of  whatsoever  condition,  state  or  religion  he  be,  being  under 
the  king's  power  or  jurisdiction,  shall  by  himself,  or  by  merchants 
or  others,  secretly  or  openly,  by  any  art  or  device,  carry  or  send, 
or  by  any  means  cause  to  be  sent,  any  tax  imposed  by  the  abbots, 
priors,  masters,  or  wardens  of  religious  houses  or  places,   their 
superiors,  or  in  any  way  assessed  among  themselves,  out  of  his 
kingdom  and  his  dominion,  under  the  name  of  a  rent,  tallage, 
tribute,  or  any  kind  of  imposition,  or  otherwise  in  the  name  of 
exchange,   sale,   loan   or  other   contract  howsoever   it   may   be 
termed ;  neither  shall  depart  into  any  other  country  for  visitation, 
or  upon  any  other  color,  by  that  means  to  carry  the  goods  of 
their  monasteries  and  houses  out  of  the  kingdom  and  dominion 
aforesaid.     And  if  any  will  presume  to  offend  this  present  statute, 
he  shall  be  grievously  punished  according  to  the  quality  of  his 
offence,  and  according  to  his  contempt  of  the  king's  prohibition. 

3.  "  Moreover  our  foresaid  lord  the  king  doth  inhibit  all  and 
singular  abbots,  priors,  masters,  and  governors  of  religious  houses 
and   places,  being  aliens,   to   whose   authority,   subjection,   and 
obedience  the  houses  of  the  same  orders  in   his  kingdom  and 


The  Statute  of  Carlisle  91 

dominion  be  subject,  that  they  do  not  at  any  time  hereafter  im- 
pose, or  by  any  means  assess  any  tallages,  payments,  impositions, 
tributes,  or  other  burdens  whatsoever,  upon  the  monasteries, 
priories,  or  other  religious  houses  in  subjection  unto  them  as  is 
aforesaid ;  and  that  upon  forfeiture  of  all  that  they  have  in  their 
power,  and  can  forfeit  in  future." 

4.  And  further,  our  lord  the  king  hath  ordained  and  established 
that  the  abbots  of  the  orders  of  Cistercians  and  Premonstraten- 
sians,  and  other  religious  orders,  whose  seal  hath  heretofore  been 
used  to  remain  only  in  the  custody  of  the  abbot,  and  not  of  the 
convent,  shall  hereafter  have  a  common  seal,  and  shall  deposit  the 
same  in  the  custody  of  the  prior  of  the  monastery  or  house,  and 
four  of  the  most  worthy  and  discreet  men  of  the  convent  of  the 
same  house,  to  be  laid  up  in  safe  keeping  under  the  private  seal 
of  the  abbot  of  the  same  house ;  so  that  the  abbot,  or  superior  of 
the  house  which  he  doth  govern,  shall  by  no  means  be  able  of 
himself  to  establish  any  contract  or  obligation,  as  heretofore  he 
hath  used  to.  And  if  it  fortune  hereafter,  that  writings  obligatory 
of  donations,  purchases,  sales,  alienations,  or  of  any  other  contracts, 
be  found  sealed  with  any  other  seal  than  such  a  common  seal  kept 
as  is  aforesaid,  they  shall  be  adjudged  void  and  of  no  force  in  law. 
But  it  is  not  the  meaning  of  our  lord  the  king  to  exclude  the 
abbots,  priors,  and  other  religious,  aliens,  by  the  ordinances  and 
statutes  aforesaid,  from  executing  their  office  of  visitation  in  his 
kingdom  and  dominion ;  but  they  may  visit  at  their  pleasures,  by 
themselves  or  others,  the  monasteries  and  other  places  in  his  king- 
dom and  dominion  in  subjection  unto  them,  according  to  the  duty 
of  their  office,  in  those  things  only  that  belong  to  regular  observa- 
tion and  the  discipline  of  their  order.  Provided,  that  they  which 
shall  execute  this  office  of  visitation,  shall  carry,  or  cause  to  be 
carried  out  of  his  kingdom  and  dominion,  none  of  the  goods  or 
things  of  such  monasteries,  priories,  and  houses,  saving  only  their 
reasonable  and  competent  charges. 

And  though  the  publication  and  open  notice  of  the  ordinances 
and  statutes  aforesaid  was  stayed  in  suspense,  for  certain  causes, 
since  the  last  parliament,  until  this  present  parliament  holden  at 
Carlisle  in  the  octaves  of  Saint  Hilary,  in  the  five  and  thirtieth  year 
of  the  reign  of  the  same  king  Edward,  and  to  the  intent  that  they 
might  proceed  with  greater  deliberation  and  advice ;  our  lord  the 
king,  after  full  conference  and  debate  had  with  his  earls,  barons, 
nobles,  and  other  great  men  and  the  commons  of  his  kingdom, 
touching  the  premises,  by  their  whole  consent  and  agreement  hath 
ordained  and  enacted,  that  the  ordinances  and  statutes  aforesaid, 


gl  English  Constitutional  Documents 

under  the  manner,  form,  and  conditions  aforesaid,  from  the  first 
day  of  May  next  ensuing,  shall  henceforward  be  inviolably  observed 
and  available  for  ever,  and  the  offenders  of  them  shall  thenceforth 
be  subjected  to  the  pains  prescribed. 


51.     The  New  Ordinances 

(October,  1311.    French  text  and  translation,  i  S.  R.  157.     2  Stubbs,  344. 
The  original  ordinances  form  the  first  six  articles  of  the  New  Ordinances.) 

EDWARD  by  the  grace  of  God,  king  of  England,  lord  of  Ire- 
land, and  duke  of  Aquitaine,  to  all  to  whom  these  letters  shall 
come,  Greeting.  Know  ye  that  whereas  on  the  sixteenth  day  of 
March,  in  the  third  year  of  our  reign,  to  the  honor  of  God,  and  for 
the  weal  of  us  and  of  our  realm,  we  did  grant  of  our  free  will  by 
our  letters  patent  to  the  prelates,  earls,  and  barons  of  our  said 
realm,  that  they  might  choose  certain  persons  of  the  prelates,  earls, 
and  barons,  whom  they  should  see  fit  to  call  unto  them ;  and  we 
did  also  grant,  by  the  same  letters,  to  those  who  should  be  chosen, 
whosoever  they  should  be,  by  the  said  prelates,  earls,  and  barons, 
full  power  to  order  the  state  of  our  household,  and  of  our  realm  be- 
fore mentioned,  *  *  *  :  and  the  honorable  father  in  God  Robert, 
by  the  grace  of  God  archbishop  of  Canterbury,  primate  of  all  Eng- 
land, the  bishops,  earls,  and  barons  thereunto  chosen,  by  virtue 
of  our  said  letters,  have  ordained  upon  the  said  matters  in  the 
form  which  followeth : 

Forasmuch  as  by  bad  and  deceitfull  counsel  our  lord  the  king 
and  all  his  subjects,  are  dishonored  in  all  lands ;  and  moreover  the 
crown  hath  been  in  many  points  abased  and  dismembered,  and  his 
lands  of  Gascony,  Ireland,  and  Scotland  on  the  point  of  being  lost, 
if  God  do  not  give  amendment ;  and  his  realm  of  England  upon 
the  point  of  rising,  on  account  of  oppressions,  prises,  and  destruc- 
tions ;  the  which  things  being  known  and  shown,  our  lord  the  king, 
of  his  free  will  hath  granted  to  the  prelates,  earls,  and  barons,  and 
to  the  other  good  people  of  his  realm,  that  certain  persons  should  be 
chosen  to  order  and  establish  the  state  of  his  household  and  of  his 
realm,  as  more  fully  appears  by  the  commission  of  our  lord  the  king 
thereof  made  :  Wherefore  we,  Robert,  by  the  grace  of  God  arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury,  primate  of  all  England,  the  bishops,  earls, 
and  barons  chosen  by  virtue  of  the  said  commission,  do  ordain,  to 


The  New  Ordinances  93 

the  honor  of  God  and  of  holy  Church,  and  to  the  honor  of  the 
king  and  of  his  realm,  in  the  manner  which  followeth : 


4.  Moreover,  it  is  ordained,  that  the  customs  of  the  realm  be 
kept  and  received  by  people  of  the  realm,  and  not  by  aliens;  and 
that  the  issues  and  profits  of  the  same  customs,  together  with  all 
other  issues  and  profits  of  the  realm  arising  from  any  matters 
whatsoever,  shall  come  entirely  to  the  king's  exchequer,  and  by 
the  treasurer  and  the  chamberlains  shall  be  delivered,  to  main- 
tain the  household  of  the  king,  and  otherwise  to  his  profit,  so  that 
the  king  may  live  of  his  own,  without  taking  prises  other  than 
those  anciently  due  and  accustomed;  and  all  others  shall  cease. 


9.  Forasmuch  as  the  king  ought  not  to  undertake  deed  of  war 
against  any  one,  nor  to  go  out  of  his  realm,  but  by  common 
assent  of  his  baronage,  for  the  many  perils  that  may  happen  to 
him  and  his  realm,  we  do  ordain,  that  the  king  henceforth  shall 
not  go  out  of  his  realm,  nor  undertake  against  any  one  deed  of 
war,  without  the  common  assent  of  his  baronage,  and  that  in  par- 
liament. And  if  he  otherwise  do,  and  upon  such  enterprise  cause 
to  be  summoned  his  service,  such  summons  shall  be  for  none; 
and  if  it  happen  that  the  king  undertake  deed  of  war  against  any 
one,  or  go  out  of  the  realm,  with  the  assent  of  his  said  baronage, 
and  it  be  necessary  that  he  appoint  a  guardian  in  his  realm,  then 
he  shall  appoint  him  with  the  common  assent  of  his  baronage, 
and  that  in  parliament. 

1 1 .  Also,  new  customs  have  been  levied,  and  the  old  enhanced, 
as  upon  wools,  cloths,  wines,  avoir  de  pots,  and  other  things, 
whereby  the  merchants  come  more  seldom,  and  bring  fewer  good 
into  the  land,  and  the  foreign  merchants  abide  longer  than  they 
were  wont  to  do,  by  which  abiding  things  become  more  dear  than 
they  were  wont  to  be,  to  the  damage  of  the  king  and  his  people; 
we  do  ordain,  that  all  manner  of  customs  and  imposts  levied 
since  the  coronation  of  king  Edward,  son  of  king  Henry,  be 
entirely  put  out,  and  altogether  extinguished  for  ever,  notwith- 
standing the  charter  which  the  said  king  Edward  made  to  the 
merchants  aliens,  because  the  same  was  made  contrary  to  the 
Great  Charter  and  the  franchise  of  the  city  of  London,  and  with- 
out the  assent  of  the  baronage;  and  if  any,  of  whatsoever  con- 
dition he  be,  do  take  or  levy  any  thing  beyond  the  ancient 


94  English  Constitutional  Documents 

customs  due  and  rightful,  or  make  disturbance,  whereby  the 
merchants  cannot  of  their  goods  do  their  will,  and  therof  be 
attainted,  there  shall  be  awarded  to  the  plaintiffs  their  damages, 
having  regard  to  the  purchase,  to  the  suit,  to  the  costs  and  losses 
which  they  shall  have  had,  and  to  the  violation  of  the  Great 
Charter;  and  the  trespasser  shall  be  imprisoned  according  to  the 
quantity  of  the  trespass,  and  according  to  the  discretion  of  the 
justices,  and  he  shall  never  be  in  the  king's  service;  saving 
nevertheless  to  the  king  the  customs  of  wools,  woolfells,  and 
leather;  that  is  to  say,  for  each  sack  of  wool,  half  a  mark,  and 
for  three  hundred  woolfells,  half  a  mark,  and  for  a  last  of  leather, 
one  mark,  if  the  goods  be  liable  thereto :  and  henceforth  mer- 
chants strangers  shall  come,  abide,  and  go  according  to  the  ancient 
customs,  and  according  to  that  which  of  old  they  were  wont  to  do. 


14.  And  forasmuch  as  many  evils  have  come  to  pass  by  such 
counsellors  and  such  ministers,  we  do  ordain  that  the  king  do 
make  the  chancellor,  chief  justice  of  the  one  bench  and  the  other, 
the  treasurer,  the  chancellor  and  chief  baron  of  the  exchequer, 
the  steward  of  his  household,  the  keeper  of  his  wardrobe,  and 
comptroller  and  a  fit  clerk  to  keep  the  privy  seal,  a  chief  keeper 
of  the  forests  on  this  side  of  Trent,  and  another  on  the  other  side 
of  Trent,  and  also  an  escheator  on  this  side  of  Trent  and  another 
on  the  other  side  of  Trent,  and  the  chief  clerk  of  the  king  in  the 
common  bench,  by  the  counsel  and  assent  of  his  baronage,  and 
that  in  parliament;  and  if  it  happen  by  any  chance,  that  it  be 
expedient  to  appoint  any  of  the  said  ministers  before  there  be  a 
parliament,  then  the  king  shall  appoint  thereto  by  the  good  coun- 
sel which  he  shall  have  near  him,  until  the  parliament.  And  so 
it  shall  henceforth  be  done  of  such  ministers  when  need  shall  be. 


17.  Moreover  we  do  ordain,  that  the  sheriffs  be  from  hence- 
forth appointed  by  the  chancellor,  the  treasurer,  and  the  others 
of  the  council  who  shall  be  present;  and  if  the  chancellor  be  not 
present,  they  shall  be  appointed  by  the  treasurer  and  barons  of 
the  exchequer,  and  by  the  justices  of  the  bench,  and  that  such  be 
appointed  and  made  who  are  fit  and  sufficient  and  who  have  lands 
and  tenements  whereof  they  can  answer  to  the  king  and  to  the 
people  for  their  deeds,  and  that  no  other  than  such  be  appointed, 
and  that  they  have  their  commission  under  the  great  seal. 


Articuli  Cleri 


95 


29.  •  *  *  :  We  do  ordain,  that  the  king  shall  hold  a  parlia- 
ment once  in  the  year,  or  twice,  if  need  be,  and  that  in  a 
convenient  place :  *  *  * 

32.  Forasmuch  as  the  law  of  the  land  and  common  right  are 
often  delayed,  by  letters  issued  under  the  king's  privy  seal,  to 
the  great  grievance  of  the  people,  we  do  ordain,  that  from  hence- 
forth the  law  of  the  land  and  common  right  be  not  delayed  nor 
disturbed  by  letters  of  the  said  seal;  and  if  any  thing  be  done  in 
any  of  the  places  of  the  court  of  our  lord  the  king,  or  elsewhere, 
by  such  letters  issued  under  the  privy  seal  against  right  or  the 
law  of  the  land,  it  shall  avail  nothing,  and  be  holden  for  none. 

*  •  *  Given  at  London,  the  fifth  day  of  October,  in  the  fifth 
year  of  our  reign. 


52.  Articuli  Cleri 

(  November,  1316.     Latin  text  and  translation,  I  S.  R.  171.     2  Stubbs,  356.) 

T^HE  king  to  all  to  whom,  &c.,  Greeting. 
A  Understand  ye,  that  whereas  *  *  *  :  and  of  late  in  our 
parliament  holden  at  Lincoln,  the  ninth  year  of  our  reign,  we 
caused  the  articles  underwritten,  with  certain  answers  made  to 
some  of  them  heretofore,  to  be  rehearsed  before  our  council,  and 
made  certain  answers  to  be  corrected;  and  to  the  residue  of  the 
articles  underwritten,  answers  were  made  by  us  and  our  council; 
of  which  said  articles,  with  the  answers  of  the  same,  the  tenors 
here  ensue. 


6.  Also  if  any  cause  or  matter,  the  knowledge  whereof  belong- 
eth  to  a  court  spiritual,  and  shall  be  definitively  determined  before 
a  spiritual  judge,  so  that  it  pass  into  a  judgment,  nor  was  not  in 
suspense  by  an  appeal;  and  after,  if  upon  the  same  thing  a  ques- 
tion is  moved  before  a  temporal  judge  between  the  same  parties, 
and  it  be  proved  by  witness  or  instruments,  such  an  exception 
is  not  to  be  admitted  in  a  temporal  court.  The  answer.  When 
any  one  case  upon  different  grounds,  is  debated  before  judges 
spiritual  and  temporal,  as  above  appeareth  upon  the  case  of 
laying  violent  hands  on  a  clerk,  they  say,  that  notwithstanding 


96  English  Constitutional  Documents 

the  spiritual  judgment,  the  king's  court  shall  discuss  the  same 
matter  according  as  it  may  seem  expedient  to  that  court. 

7.  Also  the  king's  letter  is  used  to  be  directed  unto  ordinaries, 
that  have  wrapped  those  that  be  in  subjection  unto  them  in  the 
sentence  of  excommunication,  that  they  should  absolve  them  by 
a  certain  day,  or  else  that  they  do  appear,  and  show  wherefore 
they  have  excommunicated  them :  the  answer.  The  king  decre- 
eth,  that  hereafter  no  such  letters  shall  be  suffered  to  go  forth, 
but  in  case  where  it  is  found  that  the  king's  liberty  is  prejudiced 
by  the  excommunication. 

Witness  the  king  at  York,  the  twenty-fourth  day  of  Novem- 
ber, in  the  tenth  year  of  the  reign  of  king  Edward,  the  son  of 
king  Edward. 


53.  Revocation  of  the  New  Ordinances 

(May,  1322.    French  text  and  translation,  i  S.  K.  189.     2  Stubbs,  369.) 

WHEREAS  our  lord  king  Edward,  son  of  king  Edward,  on 
the  sixteenth  day  of  March  in  the  third  year  of  his  reign, 
to  the  honor  of  God,  and  for  the  weal  of  himself  and  his  realm, 
did  grant  unto  the  prelates,  earls,  and  barons  of  his  realm,  that 
they  might  choose  certain  persons  of  the  prelates,  earls,  and 
barons,  and  of  other  lawful  men  whom  they  should  deem  suffi- 
cient to  be  called  unto  them,  for  the  ordaining  and  establishing 
the  estate  of  the  household  of  our  said  lord  the  king,  and  of  his 
realm  according  to  right  and  reason,  and  in  such  manner  that 
their  ordinances  should  be  made  to  the  honor  of  God,  and  to  the 
honor  and  profit  of  holy  Church,  and  to  the  honor  of  the  said 
king,  and  to  his  profit  and  to  the  profit  of  his  people,  according 
to  right  and  reason,  and  to  the  oath  which  our  said  lord  the  king 
made  at  his  coronation :  and  the  archbishop  of  Canterbury,  pri- 
mate of  all  England,  the  bishop,  earls,  and  barons  thereunto 
chosen,  did  make  certain  ordinances  which  begin  thus: 

"  Edward  by  the  grace  of  God,  king  of  England,  lord  of  Ire- 
land, and  duke  of  Aquitaine,  to  all  to  whom  these  letters  shall 
come,  Greeting.  Know  ye  that  whereas  on  the  sixteenth  day  of 
March  in  the  third  year  of  our  reign,  to  the  honor  of  God,  &c." 
and  which  end  thus,  "  Given  at  London  the  fifth  day  of  October 
in  the  fifth  year  of  our  reign." 


Revocation  of  the  New  Ordinances  97 

The  which  ordinances  our  said  lord  the  king,  at  his  parliament 
at  York,  in  three  weeks  from  Easter  in  the  fifteenth  year  of  his 
reign,  did,  by  the  prelates,  earls,  and  barons,  among  whom  were 
the  more  part  of  the  said  Ordainers  who  were  then  living,  and  by 
the  commonalty  of  his  realm,  there  by  his  command  assembled, 
cause  to  be  rehearsed  and  examined :  and  forasmuch  as  upon  that 
examination  it  was  found,  in  the  said  parliament,  that  by  the 
matters  so  ordained  the  royal  power  of  our  said  lord  the  king  was 
restrained  in  divers  things,  contrary  to  what  ought  to  be,  to  the 
blemishing  of  his  royal  sovereignty,  and  against  the  estate  of  the 
crown;  and  also,  forasmuch  as,  in  time  past,  by  such  ordinances 
and  provisions,  made  by  subjects  against  the  royal  power  of  the 
ancestors  of  our  lord  the  king,  troubles  and  wars  have  happened 
in  the  realm,  whereby  the  land  hath  been  in  peril,  it  is  accorded 
and  established,  at  the  said  parliament,  by  our  lord  the  king,  and 
by  the  said  prelates,  earls,  and  barons,  and  the  whole  com- 
monalty of  the  realm,  at  this  parliament  assembled,  that  all  the 
things,  by  the  said  ordainers  ordained  and  contained  in  the  said 
ordinances,  shall  from  henceforth  for  the  time  to  come  cease  and 
shall  lose  their  name,  force,  virtue,  and  effect  for  ever;  the  stat- 
utes and  establishments  duly  made  by  our  lord  the  king  and  his 
ancestors,  before  the  said  ordinances,  abiding  in  their  force :  and 
that  forever  hereafter,  all  manner  of  ordinances  or  provisions, 
made  by  the  subjects  of  our  lord  the  king  or  of  his  heirs,  by  any 
power  or  authority  whatsoever,  concerning  the  royal  power  of  our 
lord  the  king  or  of  his  heirs,  or  against  the  estate  of  our  said  lord 
the  king  or  of  his  heirs,  or  against  the  estate  of  the  crown,  shall 
be  void  and  of  no  avail  or  force  whatever;  but  the  matters  which 
are  to  be  established  for  the  estate  of  our  lord  the  king  and  of  his 
heirs,  and  for  the  estate  of  the  realm  and  of  the  people,  shall  be 
treated,  accorded  and  established  in  parliaments,  by  our  lord  the 
king,  and  by  the  assent  of  the  prelates,  earls,  and  barons,  and  the 
commonalty  of  the  realm;  according  as  it  hath  been  heretofore 
accustomed. 


98  English  Constitutional  Documents 


54.  Statute  concerning   the   Lands   of  the 
Templars 

(March,  1324.     Latin  text  and  translation,  I  S.  K.  194.) 

*  *  *  \/\7HEREUPON> tne  greater  part  of  the  king's  coun- 
VV  cil,  as  well  the  justices  as  other  lay  persons  being 
assembled  together,  the  said  justices  affirmed  precisely,  that  our 
lord  the  king,  and  other  lords  of  the  fees  aforesaid,  might  well 
and  lawfully,  by  the  laws  of  the  realm,  retain  the  foresaid  lands 
as  their  escheats,  in  regard  of  the  ceasing  and  dissolution  of  the 
order  aforesaid :  but  because  the  lands  and  tenements  aforesaid 
were  given  to  the  brethren  of  the  said  order  for  the  defence  of 
Christians,  *  *  *  •  it  seemed  good  to  our  lord  the  king,  the  noble- 
men, and  others  assembled  in  the  same  parliament,  for  the  health 
of  their  souls,  *  *  *  ,  that  the  foresaid  lands  and  tenements,  *  *  * , 
and  all  other  things  pertaining  thereunto,  *  *  *  ,  shall  be  assigned 
and  delivered  to  other  men  of  most  holy  religion;  *  *  *  :  and 
thereupon  in  the  same  parliament  it  is  agreed,  ordained  and 
established  for  law  to  continue  for  ever  in  this  behalf,  that  neither 
our  lord  the  king,  nor  any  other  lords  of  the  fees  aforesaid,  or 
any  other  person,  hath  title  or  right  to  retain  the  foresaid  lands 
and  tenements,  with  the  appurtenances  or  any  part  thereof,  in 
the  name  of  escheat,  or  by  any  other  means,  or  hereafter  to  chal- 
lenge the  same  lands  in  respect  of  the  ceasing  or  dissolution  of 
the  foresaid  military  order  of  Templars,  whereof  the  brethren  of 
the  same  order  were  seised  in  their  demesnes  as  of  fee,  at  the 
time  of  ceasing  and  dissolution  aforesaid;  *  *  *  :  it  is  agreed  and 
enacted  in  the  said  parliament  *  *  *  that  all  the  lands,  tene- 
ments, lordships,  fees,  churches,  advowsons  of  churches,  and 
liberties,  with  all  things  to  them  any  way  belonging,  which  were 
the  said  Templar's  at  the  time  of  their  ceasing  and  dissolution, 
shall  be  assigned  and  delivered  to  the  foresaid  Order  of  the  Hos- 
pital, and  to  the  prior  and  brethren  of  the  same  Hospital,  to 
remain  to  them  and  their  successors  forever:  *  *  * 


Articles  of  Accusation  against  Edward  II       99 


55.  Articles  of  Accusation  against  Edward  II 

(January,  1327.   French  text,  Twysden's  ffistoriae  Angticanae  Scriptores 
Decent,  2765.     Translation  by  Editors.     2  Stubbs,  379.) 

TT  has  been  decided  that  prince  Edward,  the  eldest  son  of  the 
A  king  shall  have  the  government  of  the  realm  and  shall  be 
crowned  king,  for  the  following  reasons : 

1.  First,  because  the  king  is  incompetent  to  govern  in  person. 
For  throughout  his  reign  he  has  been  controlled  and  governed 
by  others  who  have  given  him  evil  counsel,  to  his  own  dis- 
honor and  to  the  destruction  of  holy  Church  and  of  all  his  people, 
without  his  being  willing  to  see  or  understand  what  is  good  or 
evil  or  to  make  amendment,  or  his  being  willing  to  do  as  was 
required  by  the  great  and  wise  men  of  his  realm,  or  to  allow 
amendment  to  be  made. 

2.  Item,  throughout  his  reign  he  has  not  been  willing  to  listen 
to  good  counsel  nor  to  adopt  it  nor  to  give  himself  to  the  good 
government  of  his  realm,  but  he  has  always  given  himself  up  to 
unseemly  works  and  occupations,  neglecting  to  satisfy  the  needs 
of  his  realm. 

3.  Item,  through  the  lack  of  good  government  he  has  lost  the 
realm  of  Scotland  and  other  territories  and  lordships  in  Gascony 
and  Ireland  which  his  father  left  him  in  peace,  and  he  has  lost 
the  friendship  of  the  king  of  France  and  of  many  other  great 
men. 

4.  Item,  by  his  pride  and  obstinacy  and  by  evil  counsel  he  has 
destroyed  holy  Church  and  imprisoned  some  of  the  persons  of 
holy  Church  and  brought  distress  upon  others  and  also  many 
great  and  noble  men  of  his  land  he  has  put  to  a  shameful  death, 
imprisoned,  exiled,  and  disinherited. 

5.  Item,  wherein  he  was  bound  by  his  oath  to  do  justice  to 
all,  he  has  not  willed  to  do  it,  for  his  own  profit  and  his  greed 
and  that  of  the  evil  councillors  who  have  been  about  him,  nor 
has  he  kept  the  other  points  of  his  oath  which  he  made  at  his 
coronation,  as  he  was  bound  to  do. 

6.  Item,  he  has  stripped  his  realm,  and  done  all  that  he  could 
to  ruin  his  realm  and  his  people,  and  what  is  worse,  by  his  cru- 
elty and  lack  of  character  he  has  shown  himself  incorrigible 
without  hope  of  amendment,  which  things  are  so  notorious  that 
they  cannot  be  denied. 


ioo          English  Constitutional  Documents 
56.    Statute   of  Northampton 

(June,  1328.     French  text  and  translation,  I  S.  R.  257.     2  Stubbs,  390,  613.) 

2.  ITEM,  whereas  offenders  have  been  greatly  encouraged, 
because  that  charters  of  pardon  have  been  so  easily  granted 
in  times  past,  of  manslaughters,  robberies,  felonies,  and  other 
trespasses  against  the  peace;  it  is  ordained  and  enacted,  that 
such  charter  shall  not  be  granted,  but  only  where  the  king  may 
do  it  by  his  oath,  that  is  to  say,  where  a  man  slayeth  another  in 
his  own  defence,  or  by  misfortune :  *  *  * 

12.  Item,  whereas  all  the  counties  in  England  were  in  old 
time  assessed  to  a  certain  ferm,  and  then  were  all  the  hundreds 
and  wapentakes  in  the  sheriff's  hands  rated  to  this  ferm;  and 
after  were  approvers  sent  into  divers  counties,  which  did  increase 
the  terms  of  some  hundreds  and  wapentakes;  and  after,  the  kings 
at  divers  times  have  granted  to  many  men  part  of  the  same  hun- 
dreds and  wapentakes  for  the  old  ferms  only;  and  now  late  the 
sheriffs  be  wholly  charged  of  the  increase,  which  amounteth  to  a 
great  sum,  to  the  great  hurt  of  the  people,  and  disherison  of  the 
sheriffs  and  their  heirs:  it  is  ordained,  that  the  hundreds  and 
wapentakes  let  to  ferm  by  the  king  that  now  is,  be  it  for  term  of 
life  or  otherwise,  which  were  sometime  annexed  to  the  ferms  of 
the  counties  where  the  sheriffs  be  charged,  shall  be  joined  again 
to  the  counties;  and  that  the  sheriffs  and  their  heirs  have  allow- 
ance for  the  time  that  is  past;  and  that  from  henceforth  such 
hundreds  and  wapentakes  shall  not  be  given  nor  severed  from 
the  counties. 


57.  Statute  concerning  Justices  and  Sheriffs 

(  1330.     French  text  and  translation,  i  S.  X.  261.     2  Stubbs,  286,  391.) 


2.  ITEM,  it  is  ordained,  that  good  and  discreet  persons, 
other  than  of  the  places,  if  they  may  be  found  sufficient,  shall 
be  assigned  in  all  the  shires  of  England,  to  take  assizes,  juries, 
and  certifications,  and  to  deliver  the  jails;  and  that  the  said 
justices  shall  take  the  assizes,  juries,  and  certifications,  and 
deliver  the  jails,  at  the  least  three  times  a  year,  and  more 


Statute  concerning  Justices  and  Sheriffs      101 

often,  if  need  be;  also  there  shall  be  assigned  good  and  lawful 
men  in  every  county  to  keep  the  peace;  and  in  the  said  assign- 
ments, mention  shall  be  made  that  such  as  shall  be  indicted  or 
taken  by  the  said  keepers  of  the  peace,  shall  not  be  let  to  main- 
prise  [bail]  by  the  sheriffs,  nor  by  none  other  ministers,  if  they  be 
not  mainpernable  by  the  law;  nor  that  such  as  shall  be  indicted, 
shall  not  be  delivered  but  at  the  common  law.  And  the  justices 
assigned  to  deliver  the  jails  shall  have  power  to  deliver  the  same 
jails  of  those  that  shall  be  indicted  before  the  keepers  of  the 
peace;  and  that  the  said  keepers  shall  send  their  indictments 
before  the  justices,  and  they  shall  have  power  to  enquire  of 
sheriffs,  jailers,  and  others,  in  whose  ward  such  indicted  persons 
shall  be,  if  they  make  deliverance,  or  let  to  mainprise  any  so 
indicted,  which  be  not  mainpernable,  and  to  punish  the  said 
sheriffs,  jailers,  and  others,  if  they  do  anything  against  this  act. 


13.  Item,  because  divers  charters  of  pardon  have  been  granted 
of  felonies,  robberies,  and  manslaughters,  against  the  form  of 
the  statute  lately  made  at  Northampton,  containing  that  no  man 
should  have  such  charters  out  of  the  parliament,  whereby  such 
misdoers  have  been  the  more  bold  to  offend;  it  is  enacted,  that 
from  henceforth  the  same  statute  shall  be  kept  and  maintained 
in  all  points. 

14.  Item,  it  is  accorded  that  a  parliament  shall  be  holden 
every  year  once,  or  more  often  if  need  be. 

15.  Item,  because  sheriffs  have  before  this  time  let  hundreds 
and  wapentakes  in  their  bailiwicks  to  so  high  ferm,  that  the 
bailiff  cannot  levy  the  said  ferm,  without  doing  extortion  and 
duress  to  the  people;  it  is  ordained,  that  the  sheriffs  shall  from 
henceforth  let  their  hundreds  and  wapentakes  for  the  old  ferm, 
and  not  above;  and  that  the  justices  assigned  shall  have  power  to 
enquire  of  the  said  sheriffs,  and  punish  them  that  shall  be  found 
offending  against  this  statute. 


IO2  English  Constitutional  Documents 


58.   Presentment  of  Englishry  Abolished  and 
Grant  of  a  Subsidy 

(April,  1340.     First  statute  of  14  Edward  III.     French  text  and  trans- 
lation, S.  R.  281.     2  Stubbs,  401.) 

TO  the  honor  of  God  and  of  holy  Church,  by  the  assent  of  the 
prelates,  earls,  barons,  and  other,  assembled  at  the  parlia- 
ment holden  at  Westminster  the  Wednesday  next  after  Mid-Lent, 
in  the  fourteenth  year  of  the  reign  of  our  lord  king  Edward  the 
Third  of  England,  and  the  first  year  of  his  reign  of  France;  the 
king  for  the  peace  and  quietness  of  his  people,  as  well  great  as 
small,  doth  grant  and  establish  the  things  underwritten,  which 
he  wills  to  be  holden  and  kept  in  all  points  perpetually  to  endure. 

4.  Item,  because  many  mischiefs  have  happened  in  divers 
counties  of  England,  which  had  no  knowledge  of  presentment  of 
Englishry,  whereby  the  commons  of  the  counties  were  often 
amerced  before  the  justices  in  eyre,  to  the  great  mischief  of  the 
people;  it  is  assented,  that  from  henceforth  no  justice  errant 
shall  put  in  any  article  or  opposition,  presentment  of  Englishry 
against  the  commons  of  the  counties,  nor  against  any  of  them ; 
but  that  Englishry  and  presentment  of  the  same,  be  wholly  out 
and  void  forever,  so  that  no  person  by  this  cause  may  be  from 
henceforth  impeached. 

20.  Item,  for  the  grants,  releases,  and  pardons  of  the  debts, 
chattels  of  felons  and  fugitives,  and  many  other  things  and  good 
establishments  above  written,  which  the  king  hath  granted  to  the 
prelates,  earls,  barons,  and  all  the  commons  of  his  realm,  for  the 
ease  of  them  perpetually  to  endure,  the  said  prelates,  earls, 
barons,  and  all  the  commons  of  the  realm,  willing  of  one  assent 
and  good  will,  having  regard  to  the  will  that  the  king  their  liege 
lord  hath  towards  them,  and  to  the  great  travail  that  he  hath 
made  and  sustained  as  well  in  his  wars  of  Scotland,  as  against 
the  parts  of  France,  and  other  places,  and  to  the  good  will  which 
he  hath  to  travail  to  keep  his  realm,  and  maintain  his  wars,  and 
to  purchase  his  rights :  they  have  granted  to  him  the  ninth  lamb, 
the  ninth  fleece,  and  the  ninth  sheaf,  to  be  taken  by  two  years 
then  next  to  come.  And  of  cities  and  boroughs  the  very  ninth 


Presentment  of  Englishry  Abolished         103 

part  of  all  their  goods  and  chattels,  to  be  taken  and  levied  by 
lawful  and  reasonable  tax  by  the  same  two  years,  in  aid  of  the 
good  keeping  of  this  realm,  as  well  by  land  as  by  sea,  and  of  his 
wars,  as  well  against  the  parts  of  Scotland,  as  against  the  parts 
of  France,  Gascony,  and  elsewhere.  And  in  right  of  merchants 
foreign,  which  dwell  not  in  the  cities  nor  boroughs,  and  also  of 
other  people  that  dwell  in  forests  and  wastes,  and  all  others  that 
live  not  of  their  tillage,  or  their  store  of  sheep,  by  the  good 
advice  of  them  which  shall  be  deputed  taxers,  they  shall  be  set 
lawfully  at  the  value  to  the  fifteenth,  without  being  unreasonably 
charged;  and  it  is  not  the  intent  of  the  king,  nor  of  other  great 
men,  nor  the  commons,  that  by  this  grant  made  to  the  king  of 
fifteenths,  the  poor  cotiers,  nor  other  that  live  of  their  bodily 
travail,  shall  be  comprised  within  the  tax  of  the  said  fifteenths, 
but  shall  be  discharged  by  the  advice  of  them  which  be  deputed 
taxers,  and  of  the  great  men  which  be  deputed  surveyors. 

21.  Item,  though  the  commons  of  the  realm  did  pray  the 
king,  that  he  would  by  assent  of  the  parliament  grant  and  estab- 
lish, that  never  should  be  taken  more  custom  of  a  sack  of  wool 
than  half  a  mark,  nor  of  lead,  nor  tin,  leather,  nor  wool  fells,  but 
the  old  custom :  nevertheless  the  king  prayed  the  prelates,  earls, 
barons,  and  all  the  commonalty,  for  the  great  business  which  he 
hath  now  in  hand  as  they  well  know,  that  they  would  grant  to 
him  some  aid  upon  the  wools,  leather,  woolfells,  and  other  mer- 
chandises, to  endure  for  a  small  season;  whereupon  deliberation 
had,  the  said  prelates,  earls,  barons,  and  commons  of  his  realm, 
hath  granted  to  him  forty  shillings  to  be  taken  of  every  sack  of 
wool,  and  forty  shillings  of  every  three  hundred  woolfells,  and 
forty  shillings  of  every  last  of  leather,  and  other  merchandises 
that  pass  beyond  the  sea,  after  the  rate;  and  to  begin  at  the  feast 
of  Easter,  in  the  fourteenth  year  of  his  reign,  and  to  endure  till 
the  feast  of  Pentecost,  then  next  following,  and  from  that  feast 
till  the  feast  of  Pentecost  then  next  ensuing  in  a  whole  year. 
And  for  this  grant,  the  king  by  the  assent  of  the  prelates,  earls, 
barons,  and  all  others  assembled  in  parliament,  hath  granted, 
that  from  the  feast  of  Pentecost,  that  cometh  in  a  year,  he  nor 
his  heirs  shall  not  demand,  assess,  nor  take,  nor  suffer  to  be 
taken  more  custom  of  a  sack  of  wool  of  any  Englishman,  but 
half  a  mark  of  custom  only;  and  upon  the  woolfells  and  leather 
the  old  custom;  and  the  sack  ought  to  contain  twenty-six  stones, 
and  every  stone  fourteen  pounds.  *  *  *  And  this  establishment 
lawfully,  to  be  holden  and  kept,  the  king  hath  promised  in  the 
presence  of  the  prelates,  earls,  barons,  and  others  in  his  parlia- 


104  English  Constitutional  Documents 

ment,  no  more  to  charge,  set,  or  assess,  upon  the  custom,  but  in 
the  manner  as  afore  is  said.  In  the  same  manner  the  prelates, 
earls,  and  barons  have  promised  lawfully,  as  much  as  in  them  is, 
that  they  shall  procure  the  king,  as  much  as  they  may,  to  hold 
the  same;  and  that  they  shall  in  no  wise  assent  to  the  contrary, 
if  it  be  not  by  assent  of  the  prelates,  earls,  barons,  and  commons 
of  the  realm,  and  that  in  full  parliament.  And  for  the  more 
greater  surety,  and  to  give  cause  to  all  to  eschew  to  counsel  to 
the  contrary  of  this  point  established,  the  prelates  have  promised 
to  give  sentence  upon  all  them  that  come  against  the  same  in 
any  point. 


59.  Unauthorized  Charges  and  Taxes 
Abolished 

(April,  1340.     Second  statute  of  14  Edward  III.     French  text  and  trans, 
lation,  I  S.  R.  289.     2  Stubbs,  402.) 

EDWARD,   by  the  grace  of  God,  king  of  England  and  of 
France,  and  lord  of  Ireland,  to  all  to  whom  these  letters 
shall  come,  Greeting. 

i.  Know  ye,  that  whereas  the  prelates,  earls,  barons,  and  com- 
mons of  our  realm  of  England,  in  our  present  parliament  holden 
at  Westminster  the  Wednesday  next  after  the  Sunday  of  Middle 
Lent,  the  fourteenth  year  of  our  reign  of  England,  and  the  first 
of  France,  have  granted  to  us  of  their  good  gree  and  good  will, 
in  aid  of  the  speed  of  our  great  business  which  we  have  to  do,  as 
well  on  this  side  the  sea  as  beyond,  the  ninth  sheaf,  the  ninth 
fleece,  and  the  ninth  lamb,  to  be  taken  by  two  years  next  coming 
after  the  making  of  the  same,  and  the  citizens  of  cities  and  the 
burgesses  of  boroughs,  the  very  ninth  part  of  all  their  goods;  and 
the  foreign  merchants,  and  others  which  live  not  of  tillage,  nor 
of  store  of  sheep,  the  fifteenth  of  their  goods  lawfully  to  the 
value :  we,  willing  to  provide  for  the  indemnity  of  the  said  pre- 
lates, earls,  barons,  and  others  of  the  commonalty,  and  also  of 
the  citizens,  burgesses,  and  merchants  aforesaid,  will  and  grant 
for  us  and  our  heirs,  to  the  same  prelates,  earls,  barons  and  com- 
mons, citizens,  burgesses  and  merchants,  that  the  same  grant 
which  is  so  chargeable,  shall  not  another  time  be  had  forth  in 
example,  nor  fall  to  their  prejudice  in  time  to  come,  nor  that 
they  be  from  henceforth  charged  nor  grieved  to  make  common 
aid,  or  to  sustain  charge,  if  it  be  not  by  the  common  assent  of 


Inquiry  into  Accounts  105 

the  prelates,  earls,  barons,  and  other  great  men,  and  commons 
of  our  said  realm  of  England,  and  that  in  the  parliament;  and 
that  all  the  profits  rising  from  the  said  aid,  and  of  the  wards  and 
marriages,  customs  and  escheats,  and  other  profits  rising  of  the 
said  realm  of  England,  shall  be  put  and  spent  upon  the  main- 
tenance of  the  safeguard  of  our  said  realm  of  England,  and  of 
our  wars  in  Scotland,  France,  and  Gascony,  and  in  no  places 
elsewhere  during  the  said  wars. 


60.    England   not    to    be    Subject   to    the 
King  as  King  of  France 

(April,  1340.    Third  statute  of  14  Edward  III.     French  text  and  transla- 
tion, I  S.  X.  292.     2  Stobbs,  402.) 

THE  king  to  all  to  whom  these  letters  shall  come,  Greeting : 
Know  ye,  that  whereas  some  people  do  think,  that  by 
reason  that  the  realm  of  France  is  devolved  to  us  as  right  heir  of 
the  same,  and  forasmuch  as  we  be  king  of  France,  our  realm  of 
England  should  be  put  in  subjection  of  the  king  and  of  the  realm 
of  France  in  time  to  come;  we,  *  *  *  will  and  grant  and  estab- 
lish for  us,  and  for  our  heirs  and  successors,  by  assent  of  the  pre- 
lates, earls,  barons,  and  commons  *  *  *  that  *  *  *  our  said  realm 
of  England,  nor  the  people  of  the  same,  of  what  estate  or  condi- 
tion they  be,  shall  not  in  any  time  to  come  be  put  into  subjec- 
tion nor  in  obeisance  of  us,  nor  of  our  heirs  nor  successors  as 
kings  of  France;  *  *  * 


6 1.    Inquiry  into  Accounts 

(Maj,  1341.    French  text,  2  R.  P.  128,  130.    Translation  by  Editors. 
2  Stobbs,  409.) 

12.  ITEM,  the  great  men  and  commons  of  the  land  pray,  for 
the  common  profit  of  the  king  and  of  themselves,  that  certain 
persons  be  deputed  by  commission  to  audit  the  accounts  of  all 
those  who  have  received  the  wool  of  our  said  lord,  or  other 
aids  granted  to  him;  and  also  of  those  who  have  received  and 
paid  "out  his  money,  as  well  beyond  the  seas  as  in  the  realm  from 


io6  English  Constitutional  Documents 

the  commencement  of  his  war  until  now;  and  that  the  rolls  and 
other  remembrances,  obligations,  and  other  things  made  abroad 
be  delivered  into  the  chancery,  to  be  enrolled  and  recorded,  just 
as  was  wont  to  be  done  heretofore. 

38.  Item,  as  to  the  second  article,  that  is  to  say,  of  auditing 
accounts  of  those  who  have  received  the  wool  of  the  king,  and 
other  aids,  etc.  It  is  the  king's  pleasure  that  this  be  done  by 
good  men  deputed  for  the  purpose,  with  the  addition  that  the 
treasurer  and  the  chief  baron  be  of  the  number :  and  that  it  be 
done  concerning  this  as  it  was  heretofore  ordained;  and  that  the 
lords  be  chosen  in  this  parliament.  And  also  that  all  rolls, 
remembrances,  and  obligations  made  beyond  the  sea,  be  delivered 
into  the  chancery. 


62.  An  Act  to  secure  the  Rights  of  Peers  and 
Others,  and  to  secure  the  Responsibility  of 
the  King's  Ministers 

(May,  1341.     French  text  and  translation,  I  S.  Jf.  295.     2  Stubbs,  409.) 


i.  FIRST,  it  is  accorded  and  assented,  that  the  franchise  of 
holy  Church,  and  the  Great  Charter,  and  the  Charter  of  the 
Forest,  and  the  other  statutes  made  by  our  sovereign  lord  the 
king  and  his  progenitors,  peers,  and  the  commons  of  the  land, 
for  the  common  profit  of  the  people,  be  firmly  kept  and 
maintained  in  all  points.  And  if  anything  be  from  henceforth 
made  against  the  Great  Charter,  and  the  Charter  of  the  Forest  it 
shall  be  declared  in  the  next  parliament,  and  by  the  peers  of  the 
realm  it  shall  be  duly  redressed.  And  if  any,  of  what  condition 
he  be,  do  any  thing  to  the  contrary,  he  shall  stand  to  the  judg- 
ment of  the  peers  in  the  next  parliament,  and  so  from  parliament 
to  parliament,  as  well  of  franchises  used,  as  of  them  which  shall 
be  now  granted;  and  that  the  franchises  granted  by  our  sovereign 
lord  the  king;  or  his  progenitors,  to  holy  Church,  to  the  peers  of 
the  land,  to  the  city  of  London  and  to  other  cities  and  boroughs, 
and  to  them  of  the  five  ports,  and  to  the  commons  of  the  land, 
and  all  their  franchises  and  free  customs  shall  be  maintained  in 
all  points,  without  any  thing  doing  to  the  contrary.  And  that 
the  writs  demanded  to  have  allowance  of  charters,  of  franchises 
and  customs,  charters  of  pardons,  of  debts,  and  of  all  other  things 


Act  to  secure  the  Rights  of  Peers  and  Others     107 

granted  by  the  king,  and  by  his  progenitors  before  this  time,  be 
freely  granted  without  disturbance  before  all  manner  justices,  or 
other  ministers  where  it  needeth  to  have  allowance,  and  they  shall 
be  made  quit  at  the  exchequer,  or  elsewhere. 

2.  Item,  whereas  before  this  time  the  peers  of  the  land  have 
been  arrested  and  imprisoned,  and  their  temporalties,  lands  and 
tenements,  goods  and  chattels,  asseised  in  the  king's  hands,  and 
some  put  to  death  without  judgment  of  their  peers :  it  is  accorded 
and  assented  that  no  peer  of  the  land,  officer  or  other,  because 
of  his  office,  nor  of  things  touching  his  office,  nor  by  other  cause 
shall  be  brought  in  judgment  to  lose  his  temporalties,  lands, 
tenements,  goods  and  chattels,  nor  to  be  arrested,  nor  impris- 
oned, outlawed,  exiled,  nor  forejudged,  nor  put  to  answer,  nor 
to  be  judged,  but  by  award  of  the  said  peers  in  the  parliament. 
Saving  always  to  our  sovereign  lord  the  king,  and  his  heirs  in 
other  cases  the  laws  rightfully  used,  and  by  due  process,  and 
saved  also  the  suit  of  the  parties.     And  if  perchance  any  peer 
will,  of  his  agreement,  elsewhere  answer  or  be  judged,  but  in  the 
parliament,  that  the  same  shall  not  turn  in  prejudice  of  the  other 
peers,  nor  of  himself  in  any  other  case;  except  if  any  of  the  peers 
be  sheriff  or  fermer  of  fee,  or  hath  been  officer,  or  hath  received 
money,  or  other  chattels  of  the  king,  because  of  which  office  or 
receipt  he  is  bound  to  account,  that  the  same  shall  account  by 
himself  or  by  his  attorney  in  places  accustomed;  so  that  the  par- 
dons before  this  time  made  in  the  parliament,  shall  stand  in  their 
force. 

3.  Item,  because  that  the  points  of  the  Great  Charter  be  blem- 
ished in  divers  manners,  and  less  well  holden  than  they  ought  to 
be,  to  the  great  peril  and  slander  of  the  king,  and  damage  of  his 
people  especially  inasmuch  as  clerks,  peers  of  the  land,  and 
other  free   men  be  arrested  and   imprisoned,    and   ousted    of 
their  goods  and  chattels,  who  were  not  appealed  nor  endited, 
nor  suit  of  the  party  against  them  affirmed :  it  is  accorded  and 
assented,  that  from  henceforth  such  things  shall  not  be  done. 
And  if  any  minister  of  the  king,  or  other  person,  of  what  condi- 
tion he  be,  do  or  come  against  any  point  of  the  Great  Charter,  or 
other  statutes,  or  the  laws  of  the  land,  he  shall  answer  in  the 
parliament,  as  well  at  the  king's  suit,  as  at  the  suit  of  the  party, 
where  no  remedy  nor  punishment  was  ordained  before  this  time, 
as  far  forth  where  it  was  done  by  commission  or  commandment 
of  the  king,  as  of  his  own  authority,  notwithstanding  the  ordi- 
nance made  before  this  time  at  Northampton,  which  by  assent  of 
the  king,  the  prelates,  earls,  barons,  and  the  commonalty  of  the 


io8  English  Constitutional  Documents 

land,  in  this  present  parliament  is  repealed  and  utterly  annulled. 
And  that  the  chancellor,  treasurer,  barons,  and  chancellor  of  the 
exchequer,  the  justices  of  the  one  bench  and  of  the  other,  justices 
assigned  in  the  country,  steward  and  chamberlain  of  the  king's 
house,  keeper  of  the  privy  seal,  treasurer  of  the  wardrobe,  con- 
trollers, and  they  that  be  chief  deputed  to  abide  nigh  the  king's 
son  duke  of  Cornwall,  shall  be  now  sworn  in  this  parliament,  and 
so  from  henceforth  at  all  times  that  they  shall  be  put  in  office,  to 
keep  and  maintain  the  privileges  and  franchises  of  holy  Church, 
and  the  points  of  the  Great  Charter,  and  the  Charter  of  the 
Forest,  and  all  other  statutes,  without  breaking  any  point. 

4.  Item,  it  is  assented,  that  if  any  of  the  officers  aforesaid,  or 
controllers,  or  chief  clerk  in  the  common  bench,  or  in  the  king's 
bench,  by  death  or  by  other  cause  be  ousted  of  his  office,  that 
our  sovereign  lord  the  king,  by  the  accord  of  the  great  men, 
which  shall  be  found  most  nighest  in  the  country,  which  he  shall 
take  towards  him,  and  by  the  good  counsel  which  he  shall  have 
about  him,  shall  put  another  convenient  in  the  said  office;  who 
shall  be  sworn  after  the  form  aforesaid.  And  that  in  every  par- 
liament, at  the  third  day  of  the  same  parliament,  the  king  shall 
take  in  his  hands  the  offices  of  all  the  ministers  aforesaid,  and 
so  shall  they  abide  four  or  five  days;  except  the  offices  of  justices 
of  the  one  place  or  the  other,  justices  assigned,  barons  of  the 
exchequer;  so  always  that  they  and  all  other  ministers  be  put  to 
answer  to  every  complaint;  and  if  default  be  found  in  any  of  the 
said  ministers,  by  complaint  or  other  manner,  and  of  that  he  be 
attainted  in  parliament,  he  shall  be  punished  by  judgment  of  the 
peers,  and  put  out  of  his  office,  and  another  convenient  put  in 
his  place.  And  upon  the  same  our  sovereign  lord  the  king  shall 
do  to  be  pronounced  and  made  execution  without  delay  accord- 
ing to  the  judgment  of  the  said  peers  in  the  parliament. 


63.    Revocation  of  the  Preceding  Statute 

(October,  1341.     Latin  text  and  translation,  i  S.  K.  297.     2  Stubbs,  410.) 

THE  king  to  the  sheriff  of  Lincoln,  Greeting.    Whereas  at  our 
parliament  summoned  at  Westminster  in  the  quinzime  of 
Easter  last  past,  certain  articles  expressly  contrary  to  the  laws  and 
customs  of  our  realm  of  England,  and  to  our  prerogatives  and 


An  Act  regulating  the  Coinage  109 

rights  royal  were  pretended  to  be  granted  by  us  by  the  manner  of 
a  statute;  we,  considering  how  that  by  the  bond  of  our  oath  we 
be  tied  to  the  observance  and  defence  of  such  laws,  customs, 
rights,  and  prerogatives,  and  providently  willing  to  revoke  and 
call  again  such  things  to  a  due  state,  which  be  so  improvidently 
done,  upon  conference  and  treatise  thereupon  had  with  the  earls, 
barons,  and  other  wise  men  of  our  said  realm,  and  because  we 
never  consented  to  the  making  of  the  said  pretended  statute,  but 
as  then  it  behoved  us,  we  dissimulated  in  the  premises,  protests 
being  before  made  for  the  revoking  of  the  said  statute,  if  indeed 
it  should  proceed,  to  eschew  the  dangers  which  by  the  denying  of 
the  same  we  feared  to  come,  forasmuch  as  the  said  parliament 
otherwise  had  been,  without  dispatching  anything,  in  discord 
dissolved,  and  so  our  earnest  business  had  likely  been  ruinated, 
which  God  prohibit,  and  the  said  pretended  statute  we  permitted 
then  to  be  sealed :  it  seemed  to  the  said  earls,  barons,  and  other 
wise  men,  that  since  the  said  statute  did  not  of  our  free  will  pro- 
ceed, the  same  should  be  void,  and  ought  not  to  have  the  name 
nor  strength  of  a  statute;  and  therefore  by  their  counsel  and 
assent  we  have  decreed  the  said  statute  to  be  void,  and  the 
same,  in  so  far  as  it  proceeded  of  deed,  we  have  agreed  to  be 
annulled;  willing  nevertheless,  that  the  articles  contained  in  the 
said  pretended  statute  which  by  other  of  our  statutes,  or  of  our 
progenitors  kings  of  England,  have  been  approved,  shall,  accord- 
ing to  the  form  of  the  said  statutes  in  every  point,  as  convenient 
is,  be  observed;  and  the  same  we  do,  only  to  the  conservation 
and  reintegration  of  the  rights  of  our  crown,  as  we  be  bound,  and 
not  that  we  should  in  any  wise  grieve  or  oppress  our  subjects, 
whom  we  desire  to  rule  by  lenity  and  gentleness.  And  therefore 
we  do  command  thee,  that  all  these  things  thou  cause  to  be 
openly  proclaimed  in  such  places  within  thy  bailiwick  where 
thou  shalt  see  expedient.  Witness  myself  at  Westminster  the  first 
day  of  October,  the  fifteenth  year  of  our  reign. 

By  the  king  himself  and  his  council. 


64.    An  Act  regulating  the  Coinage 

(May,  1343.     French  text  and  translation,  I  S.  R.  299.     2  Stubbs,  413.) 

ITEM,  it  is  accorded  to  make  money  of  good  sterling  in  Eng- 
land of  the  weight  and  alloy  of  the  ancient  sterling,  which 
shall  be  current  in  England  between  the  great  men  and  commons 


no          English  Constitutional   Documents 

of  the  land,  and  the  which  shall  not  be  carried  out  of  the  realm 
of  England  in  any  manner,  nor  for  any  cause  whatsoever;  and  in 
case  that  the  Flemings  will  make  good  money  of  silver  groats  or 
other,  according  in  alloy  with  good  sterling,  that  such  money 
shall  be  current  in  England  between  merchant  and  merchant,  and 
others  who  of  their  own  accord  will  receive  the  same;  so  that  no 
silver  be  carried  out  ol  the  realm. 


65.  Attempts  to  Tax   though   the   Merchants 
resisted 

(May,  1343.     French  text,  2  Jf.  P.  140.    Translation  by  Editors. 
2  Stubbs,  412.) 

28.  ITEM,  that  the  maletote  of  wool  remain  at  half  a  mark 
as  was  used  in  the  time  of  the  king's  progenitors  and  as  it  was 
granted  by  statute  during  the  king's  own  reign.  And  seeing 
that  the  merchants  of  themselves  have  granted,  without  the  as- 
sent of  the  commons,  a  subsidy  of  forty  shillings  on  each  sack 
of  wool  besides  the  lawful  maletote  of  half  a  mark,  you  will,  if  it 
is  your  pleasure,  have  regard  that  it  is  all  to  the  charge  and  to 
the  mischief  of  your  commons.  Wherefore,  if  it  is  your  pleas- 
ure, you  will  not  suffer  this  mischief,  but  you  will  rather  amend  it 
at  this  parliament,  for  it  i's  against  reason,  that  the  commons 
should  be  charged  of  their  goods  by  the  merchants. 

The  intent  of  our  lord  the  king  is  not  to  charge  the  commons 
with  the  subsidy  which  the  merchants  have  granted  him,  nor  may 
it  be  regarded  as  a  charge  on  the  commons.  Particularly  inas- 
much as  the  commons  have  put  a  certain  price  upon  the  wool 
throughout  the  counties;  which  price  the  king  wills  to  continue, 
and  that  within  this  price  no  wool  shall  be  bought  upon  forfeiture 
of  the  same  wool  in  the  hands  of  the  merchants  who  purchased 
the  same. 


66.  Grant  of  a  Subsidy  for  Two  Years 

(June,  1344.     French  text  and  translation,  I  S.  R.  300.     2  Stubbs,  414.) 

Fis  to  be  remembered,  that  at  the  parliament  holden  at  West- 
minster, the  Monday  next  after  the  utas  of  the  Holy  Trinity, 
the  year  of  reign  of  our  sovereign  lord  the  king  that  now  is  of 


Grant  of  a  Subsidy  for  Two  Years          in 

England  the  eighteenth  and  of  France  the  fifth,  among  other 
things  many  things  were  showed  in  full  parliament,  which  were 
attempted  by  the  party  adversary  to  our  sovereign  lord  the  king,  of 
France,  against  the  truce  lately  taken  in  Britain,  betwixt  our  said 
sovereign  lord  the  king  and  his  said  adversary;  and  how  that  his 
said  adversary  enforceth  himself  as  much  as  he  may,  to  destroy 
our  said  sovereign  lord  the  king,  and  his  allies,  subjects,  lands, 
and  places,  and  the  tongue  of  England;  and  that  was  prayed  by 
our  said  sovereign  lord  the  king  of  the  prelates,  great  men  and 
commons,  that  they  would  give  him  such  counsel  and  aid,  as 
should  be  expedient  in  so  great  necessity :  And  the  said  prelates, 
great  men  and  commons,  taking  good  deliberation  and  advice, 
and  openly  seeing  the  subversion  of  the  land  of  England,  and  the 
king's  great  business,  which  God  defend,  if  hasty  remedy  be  not 
provided,  have  counselled  jointly  and  severally,  and  prayed  with 
great  instance  our  sovereign  lord  the  king,  that  he  would  make 
him  as  strong  as  he  might  to  pass  the  sea,  in  assurance  of  the  aid 
of  God  and  of  his  good  quarrel,  effectually  this  time  to  make  an 
end  of  his  wars,  or  by  way  of  peace  or  else  by  force;  and  that 
nor  for  letters,  words,  nor  fair  promises,  he  shall  let  his  passage, 
till  he  see  the  effect  of  his  business;  and  for  this  cause  the  said 
great  men  do  grant,  to  pass  and  to  adventure  them  with  him. 
And  the  said  commons  do  grant  to  him,  for  the  same  cause  upon 
a  certain  form  two  fifteenths  of  the  commonalty,  and  two  tenths 
of  the  cities  and  boroughs,  to  be  levied  in  manner  as  the  last 
fifteenth  granted  to  him  was  levied,  and  not  in  other  manner; 
and  to  be  paid  by  two  years,  at  the  feasts  of  All  Saints,  and  of 
Easter  next  following,  for  the  first  year;  and  in  case  that  our 
sovereign  lord  the  king  doth  pass  the  sea,  to  pay  at  the  same  terms 
a  fifteenth  and  a  tenth  of  the  second  year,  and  not  in  other 
manner;  so  that  the  money  levied  of  the  same,  be  dispended  in 
the  business  showed  to  them  in  this  parliament,  by  the  advice  of 
the  great  men  thereto  assigned,  and  that  the  aids  beyond  Trent, 
be  put  in  defence  of  the  North.  And  our  said  sovereign  lord  the 
king,  for  this  cause,  and  in  the  ease  of  the  said  commons,  and  of 
all  his  faithful  subjects  of  England,  by  the  assent  of  the  prelates, 
great  men,  and  commons,  hath  granted  of  his  good  grace  these 
things  underwritten: 


H2  English  Constitutional  Documents 

67.  A  Grant  of  the  Clergy  for  Three  Years 

(July,  1344.     Latin  text  and  translation,  i  S.  R.  302.     z  Stubbs,  414.) 


FIRST,  whereas  many  things  have  been  attempted,  by  the  party 
our  adversary  of  France,  against  the  truce  late  taken  in 
Britain,  betwixt  us  and  him,  and  how  that  he  enforceth  himself, 
as  much  as  he  may,  to  destroy  us,  and  our  allies,  subjects,  lands, 
and  places,  and  the  tongue  of  England :  And  thereupon  we  prayed 
the  prelates,  great  men,  and  commons,  that  they  should  give  us 
such  counsel  and  aid  as  there  should  be  need  of  in  so  great  ex- 
tremity and  the  said  prelates,  great  men  and  commons,  having 
thereof  good  deliberation  and  advice,  and  seeing  openly  the  sub- 
version of  the  land  of  England,  and  of  our  great  business,  which 
God  defend,  if  speedy  remedy  be  not  provided;  have  counselled 
jointly  and  severally,  and  with  great  instance  prayed  us,  that  in 
assurance  of  the  aid  of  God,  and  our  good  quarrel  we  should  make 
us  as  strong  by  all  the  good  means  that  we  might,  at  this  time 
to  finish  our  wars;  and  that  for  letters,  words,  nor  fair  promises, 
we  should  not  let  our  passage,  till  we  did  see  the  effect  of  our 
business :  and  for  this  cause,  the  great  men  aforesaid  granted  to 
pass,  and  to  adventure  themselves  with  us;  and  the  said  prelates 
and  procurators  of  the  clergy,  have  granted  to  us  for  the  same 
cause,  a  triennial  tenth,  to  be  paid  at  certain  days,  that  is  to 
say,  of  the  province  of  Canterbury,  at  the  feasts  of  the  Purifica- 
tion of  our  Lady,  and  of  Saint  Barnabas  the  apostle :  and  of  the 
province  of  York,  at  the  feasts  of  Saint  Luke,  and  the  Nativity  of 
Saint  John  Baptist.  And  we  for  this  cause,  in  maintenance  of 
the  estate  of  holy  Church,  and  in  ease  of  the  said  prelates,  and 
all  the  clergy  of  England,  by  assent  of  the  great  men,  and  of  the 
commons,  do  grant  of  our  good  grace  the  things  underwritten; 
that  is  to  say,  that  no  archbishop  nor  bishop  shall  be  impeached 
before  our  justices  because  of  crime,  unless  we  especially  do 
command  them,  till  another  remedy  be  thereof  ordained. 


Grant  on  Conditions  113 


68.  Grant  on  Conditions 

(April,  1348.     French  text,  2  R.  P.  200.    Translation  by  Editors. 
2  Stubbs,  417,  606.) 

4.  *  *  *  NEVERTHELESS,  provided  that  the  aid  now  granted 
by  the  said  commons  be  in  no  manner  turned  into  wool  neither 
by  loan,  nor  by  valuation,  nor  in  other  manner  be  levied 
nor  more  hastily,  than  in  the  form  in  which  it  be  granted, 
and  that  in  the  meantime  the  circuits  of  the  justices,  as  well 
of  the  forest  as  of  common  pleas  and  general  inquisitions, 
cease  throughout  the  land;  that  the  aid  be  levied,  and  that 
the  subsidy  granted  of  forty  shillings  on  each  sack  of  wool 
cease  at  the  end  of  three  years,  which  will  be  now  at  Mich- 
aelmas next  coming,  and  that  henceforth  no  such  grant  be 
made  by  the  merchants,  inasmuch  as  it  is  only  to  the  grievance 
and  charge  of  the  commons,  and  not  of  the  merchants  who  buy 
the  wool  at  so  much  the  less.  And  also,  that  henceforth  no 
imposition,  tallage,  nor  charge  by  loan,  nor  of  any  other  sort 
whatsoever,  be  put  by  the  privy  council  of  our  lord  the  king  with- 
out their  grant  and  assent  in  parliament:  and  also,  that  two  prel- 
ates, two  lords,  and  two  justices  in  this  present  parliament  be 
assigned  to  hear  and  examine  all  the  petitions  previously  put  for- 
ward in  the  last  parliament  by  the  commons  which  have  not  yet 
been  answered;  and  with  them  the  petitions  now  set  forth,  in  the 
presence  of  four  or  six  of  the  commons  chosen  by  them  for  this 
special  purpose,  so  that  the  said  petitions  be  answered  reason- 
ably in  the  present  parliament,  and  of  those  which  have  been 
previously  answered  in  full,  that  the  answers  be  in  force  without 
change.  And  also  that  the  merchants  who  have  evilly  deceived 
our  lord  the  king,  and  have  been  extortionate  toward  his  people 
in  the  matter  of  the  twenty  thousand  sacks  of  wool  of  loan 
granted  by  the  commons  to  our  said  lord,  be  put  to  answer  before 
the  justices  having  power  to  hear  and  determine  throughout  the 
counties  of  England,  and  that  no  release  nor  charter  of  par- 
don be  allowed  them.  And  that  the  said  justices  make  inquisi- 
tion of  the  false  money  which  ruins  the  people.  And  that  David 
Bruce,  William  Douglas  and  the  other  chieftains  of  Scotland  be 
in  no  manner  released  neither  for  ransom  nor  on  parole.  And 
also  that  our  lord  the  king  restore  to  the  commons  the  twenty 
thousand  sacks  of  wool  in  time  past  taken  from  the  commons  by 
loan  and  that  the  aid  for  the  marrying  of  the  daughter  of  our 


114  English  Constitutional  Documents 

lord  the  king  cease  in  the  meantime.  And  that  there  be  no  Mar- 
shalsea  in  England,  save  the  Marshalsea  of  our  lord  the  king,  or 
of  the  guardian  of  England  when  our  lord  the  king  shall  be  out 
of  England,  upon  these  conditions  above  named  and  not  other- 
wise. And  also,  provided  that  the  said  conditions  be  entered  on 
the  roll  of  parliament  as  a  matter  of  record,  so  that  there  can  be 
remedy  if  anything  to  the  contrary  is  attempted  in  time  to  come. 
Thus,  the  said  poor  commons,  to  their  very  great  mischief,  grant 
to  our  lord  the  king  three  fifteenths  to  be  levied  for  three  years 
commencing  at  Michaelmas  next  coming;  so  that  each  of  the 
three  years  one  fifteenth  and  no  more  be  levied,  at  two  terms  of 
the  year,  at  Michaelmas  and  at  Easter,  in  equal  portions.  And 
that  the  said  aid  be  assigned  and  kept  solely  for  the  war  of  our 
lord  the  king  and  in  no  manner  for  the  payment  of  former  debts. 
And  also,  if,  by  the  grace  of  God,  peace  or  long  truce  be  made 
in  the  meantime,  that  the  fifteenth  for  the  last  of  the  three  years 
be  not  levied;  but  of  that  fifteenth  the  grant  shall  lose  its  force 
completely.  And  that  letters  patent  of  these  conditions,  and  of 
the  manner  of  this  grant  be  made  under  the  great  seal  to  all  the 
counties  of  England,  without  paying  anything  therefor.  And 
that  the  said  patents  make  mention  of  the  great  necessity  of  our 
lord  the  king,  which  has  arisen  since  the  last  parliament.  And 
also  in  case  of  war  with  Scotland  that  the  aid  granted  north  of 
the  Trent  be  turned  to  the  conduct  of  that  war  and  in  defense  of 
that  part  of  the  country,  as  before  this  time  has  been  done. 


69.   An  Ordinance  concerning  Laborers  and 
Servants 

(June,  1349.     Latin  text  and  translation,  I  S.  R.  307.     2  Stubbs,  420, 
428,  476.) 

'""PHE  king  to  the  sheriff  of  Kent,  Greeting.  Because  a  great 
-I-  part  of  the  people,  and  especially  of  workmen  and  servants, 
late  died  of  the  pestilence,  many  seeing  the  necessity  of  masters, 
and  great  scarcity  of  servants,  will  not  serve  unless  they  may 
receive  excessive  wages,  and  some  rather  willing  to  beg  in  idle- 
ness, than  by  labor  to  get  their  living;  we,  considering  the  griev- 
ous incommodities,  which  of  the  lack  especially  of  ploughmen 
and  such  laborers  may  hereafter  come,  have  upon  deliberation 
and  treaty  with  the  prelates  and  the  nobles,  and  learned  men 
assisting  us,  of  their  mutual  counsel  ordained : 


Ordinance  concerning  Laborers  and  Servants     115 

i.  That  every  man  and  woman  of  our  realm  of  England,  of 
what  condition  he  be,  free  or  bond,  able  in  body,  and  within  the 
age  of  three  score  years,  not  living  in  merchandise,  nor  exercis- 
ing any  craft,  nor  having  of  his  own  whereof  he  may  live,  nor 
proper  land,  about  whose  tillage  he  may  himself  occupy,  and  not 
serving  any  other,  if  he  be  required  to  serve  in  convenient  service, 
his  estate  considered,  he  shall  be  bounden  to  serve  him  which 
shall  so  him  require;  and  take  only  the  wages,  livery,  meed,  or 
salary,  which  were  accustomed  to  be  given  in  the  places  where  he 
oweth  to  serve,  the  twentieth  year  of  our  reign  of  England,  or 
five  or  six  other  common  years  next  before.  Provided  always, 
that  the  lords  be  preferred  before  others  in  their  bondmen  or 
their  land  tenants,  so  in  their  service  to  be  retained:  so  that 
nevertheless  the  said  lords  shall  retain  no  more  than  be  necessary 
for  them;  and  if  any  such  man  or  woman,  being  so  required  to 
serve,  will  not  do  the  same,  that  proved  by  two  true  men  before 
the  sheriff,  bailiff,  lord,  or  constable  of  the  town  where  the  same 
shall  happen  to  be  done,  he  shall  anon  be  taken  by  them,  or  any 
of  them,  and  committed  to  the  next  jail,  -there  to  remain  under 
strait  keeping,  till  he  find  surety  to  serve  in  the  form  aforesaid. 

5.  Item,    that   sadlers,    skinners,    whitetawers,    cordwainers, 
tailors,  smiths,  carpenters,  masons,  tilers,  boatmen,  carters,  and 
all  other  artificers  and  workmen,  shall  not  take  for  their  labor 
and  workmanship  above  the  same  that  was  wont  to  be  paid  to 
such  persons  the  said  twentieth  year,  and  other  common  years 
next  before,  as  afore  is  said,  in  the  place  where  they  shall  happen 
to  work;  and  if  any  man  take  more,  he  shall  be  committed  to  the 
next  jail,  in  manner  as  afore  is  said. 

6.  Item,  that  butchers,  fishmongers,  hostelers,  brewers,  bakers, 
pullers,  and  all  other  sellers  of  all  manner  of  victual,  shall  be 
bound  to  sell  the  same  victual  for  a  reasonable  price,  having 
respect  to  the  price  that  such  victual  be  sold  at  in  the  places 
adjoining,  so  that  the  same  sellers  have  moderate  gains,  and  not 
excessive,  reasonably  to  be  required  according  to  the  distance  of 
the  place  from  whence  the  said  victuals  be  carried;  *  *  * 


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70.  Statute  of  Laborers 

(February,  1351.     French  text  and  translation,  i  S.  R.  311.    2  Stubbs, 
428,  476.) 

"11  WHEREAS  late  against  the  malice  of  servants,  which  were 
V  V  idle,  and  not  willing  to  serve  after  the  pestilence,  with- 
out taking  excessive  wages,  it  was  ordained  by  our  lord  the  king, 
and  by  assent  of  the  prelates,  nobles,  and  other  of  his  council, 
that  such  manner  of  servants,  as  well  men  as  women,  should  be 
bound  to  serve,  receiving  salary  and  wages,  accustomed  in  places 
where  they  ought  to  serve  in  the  twentieth  year  of  the  reign  of 
the  king  that  now  is,  or  five  or  six  years  before;  and  that  the 
same  servants  refusing  to  serve  in  such  manner,  should  be  pun- 
ished by  imprisonment  of  their  bodies,  as  in  the  said  statute  is 
more  plainly  contained :  whereupon  commissions  were  made  to 
divers  people  in  every  county  to  inquire  and  punish  all  them 
which  offend  against  the  same :  and  now  forasmuch  as  it  is  given 
the  king  to  understand  in  this  present  parliament,  by  the  petition 
of  the  commonalty,  that  the  said  servants  having  no  regard  to 
the  said  ordinance,  but  to  their  ease  and  singular  covetise,  do 
withdraw  themselves  to  serve  great  men  and  others,  unless  they 
have  livery  and  wages  to  the  double  or  treble  of  that  they  were 
wont  to  take  the  said  twentieth  year,  and  before,  to  the  great 
damage  of  the  great  men,  and  impoverishing  of  all  the  said  com- 
monalty, whereof  the  said  commonalty  prayeth  remedy :  where- 
fore in  the  said  parliament,  by  the  assent  of  the  said  prelates, 
earls,  barons,  and  other  great  men,  and  of  the  same  commonalty 
there  assembled,  to  refrain  the  malice  of  the  said  servants,  be 
ordained  and  established  the  things  underwritten,  that  is  to  wit : 

5.  Item,  that  the  said  stewards,  bailiffs,  and  constables  of  the 
said  towns,  be  sworn  before  the  same  justices,  to  inquire  dili- 
gently by  all  the  good  ways  they  may,  of  all  them  that  come 
against' this  ordinance,  and  to  certify  the  same  justices  of  their 
names  at  all  times,  when  they  shall  come  into  the  country  to 
make  their  sessions;  so  that  the  same  justices  on  certificate  of 
the  same  stewards,  bailiffs,  and  constables,  of  the  names  of  the 
rebels,  shall  cause  them  to  be  attached  by  their  body,  to  be  before 
the  said  justices,  to  answer  of  such  contempts,  so  that  they  make 
fine  and  ransom  to  the  king,  in  case  they  be  attainted ;  and  more- 
over to  be  commanded  to  prison,  there  to  remain  till  they  have 


Statute  of  Pro  visors  of  Benefices  117 

found  surety,  to  serve,  and  take,  and  do  their  work,  and  to  sell 
things  vendible  in  the  manner  aforesaid;  and  in  case  that  any  of 
them  come  against  his  oath,  and  be  thereof  attainted,  he  shall 
have  imprisonment  of  forty  days;  and  if  he  be  another  time  con- 
vict, he  shall  have  imprisonment  of  a  quarter  of  a  year,  so  that 
at  every  time  that  he  offendeth  and  is  convict,  he  shall  have 
double  pain:  *  *  * 

7.  Item,  that  the  said  justices  make  their  sessions  in  all  the 
counties  of  England  at  the  least  four  times  a  year,  that  is  to  say, 
at  the  feast  of  the  Annunciation  of  our  Lady,  Saint  Margaret, 
Saint  Michael,  and  Saint  Nicholas;  and  also  at  all  times  that 
shall  need,  according  to  the  discretion  of  the  said  justices;  *  *  * 


71.  Statute  of  Provisors  of  Benefices 

(February,  1351.     French  text  and  translation,  I  S.  R.  316.     2  Stubbs, 
430,  3  Stubbs,  324.) 

T  \  7HEREAS  late  in  the  parliament  of  good  memory  of  Edward 
V  V  king  of  England,  grandfather  to  our  lord  the  king  that  now 
is,  the  five  and  thirtieth  year  of  his  reign,  holden  at  Carlisle,  the 
petition  being  heard,  which  was  offered  unto  the  said  grandfather 
and  his  council  in  his  said  parliament,  by  the  commonalty  of  the 
said  realm,  containing,  that  whereas  the  holy  Church  of  England 
was  founded  in  the  estate  of  prelacy,  within  the  realm  of  England, 
by  the  said  grandfather  and  his  progenitors,  and  the  earls,  barons, 
and  other  nobles  of  his  said  realm,  and  their  ancestors,  to  inform 
them  and  the  people  of  the  law  of  God,  and  to  make  hospitali- 
ties, alms,  and  other  works  of  charity,  in  the  places  where  the 
churches  were  founded,  for  the  souls  of  the  founders,  their  heirs, 
and  all  Christians;  and  certain  possessions,  as  well  in  fees,  lands, 
rents,  as  in  advowsons,  which  do  extend  to  a  great  value,  were 
assigned  by  the  said  founders  to  the  prelates  and  other  people  of 
the  holy  Church  of  the  said  realm,  to  sustain  the  same  charge, 
and  especially  of  the  possessions  which  were  assigned  to  arch- 
bishops, bishops,  abbots,  priors,  religious,  and  all  other  people 
of  holy  Church,  by  the  kings  of  the  said  realm,  earls,  barons,  and 
other  great  men  of  his  realm ;  the  same  kings,  earls,  barons,  and 
other  nobles,  as  lords  and  advowees,  have  had  and  ought  to  have  the 
custody  of  such  voidances  [vacancies],  and  the  presentments  and 


n8  English  Constitutional  Documents 

the  collations  of  the  benefices  being  of  such  prelacies :  and  the 
said  kings  in  times  past  were  wont  to  have  the  greatest  part  of  theii 
council,  for  the  safeguard  of  the  realm  when  they  had  need,  of 
such  prelates  and  clerks  so  advanced;  the  pope  of  Rome,  accroach- 
ing to  him  the  seignories  of  such  possessions  and  benefices  doth 
give  and  grant  the  same  benefices  to  aliens  which  did  never  dwell 
in  England,  and  to  cardinals,  which  might  not  dwell  here,  and 
to  others  as  well  aliens  as  denizens,  as  if  he  had  been  patron  or 
advowee  of  the  said  dignities  and  benefices,  as  he  was  not  of  right 
by  the  law  of  England;  whereby  if  they  should  be  suffered,  there 
should  scarcely  be  any  benefice  within  a  short  time  in  the  said 
realm,  but  that  it  should  be  in  the  hands  of  aliens  and  by  virtue 
of  such  provisions,  against  the  good  will  and  disposition  of  the 
founders  of  the  same  benefices;  and  so  the  elections  of  arch- 
bishops, bishops,  and  other  religious  should  fail,  and  the  alms, 
hospitalities,  and  other  works  of  charity,  which  should  be  done 
in  the  said  places,  should  be  withdrawn,  the  said  grandfather, 
and  other  lay-patrons,  in  the  time  of  such  voidances,  should  lose 
their  presentments,  the  said  council  should  perish,  and  goods 
without  number  should  be  carried  out  of  the  realm,  in  annulling 
of  the  estate  of  the  holy  Church  of  England,  and  disherison  of 
the  said  grandfather,  and  the  earls,  barons,  and  other  nobles, 
and  in  offence  and  destruction  of  the  laws  and  rights  of  his  realm, 
and  to  the  great  damage  of  his  people,  and  in  subversion  of  all 
the  estate  of  his  said  realm,  and  against  the  good  disposition  and 
will  of  the  first  founders :  by  the  assent  of  the  earls,  barons,  and 
other  nobles  and  of  all  the  said  commonalty,  at  their  instances 
and  requests,  the  damage  and  grievances  afore  considered,  in  the 
said  full  parliament  it  was  provided,  ordained,  and  established, 
that  the  said  oppressions,  grievances,  and  damages  in  the  same 
realm  from  henceforth  should  not  be  suffered  in  any  manner. 
And  now  it  is  showed  to  our  lord  the  king  in  this  present  parlia- 
ment holden  at  Westminster,  at  the  utas  of  the  Purification  of 
our  Lady,  the  five  and  twentieth  year  of  his  reign  of  England, 
and  of  France  the  twelfth,  by  the  grievous  complaints  of  all  the 
commons  of  his  realm,  that  the  grievances  and  mischiefs  afore- 
said do  daily  abound,  to  the  greater  damage  and  destruction  of 
all  this  realm  more  than  ever  were  before,  namely,  that  now  of 
late  our  Holy  Father  the  pope  by  procurement  of  clerks  and 
other  wise,  hath  reserved,  and  doth  daily  reserve  to  his  collation 
generally  and  especially,  as  well  archbishoprics,  bishoprics, 
abbeys,  and  priories,  as  all  other  dignities  and  other  benefices 
of  England,  which  be  of  the  advowry  of  people  of  holy  Church, 


Statute  of  Provisors  of  Benefices  119 

and  doth  give  the  same  as  well  to  aliens  as  to  denizens,  and 
taketh  of  all  such  benefices  the  first  fruits,  and  many  other  profits, 
and  a  great  part  of  the  treasure  of  the  said  realm  is  carried 
away  and  dispended  out  of  the  realm,  by  the  purchasers  of  such 
graces;  and  also  by  such  privy  reservations  many  clerks  advanced 
in  this  realm  by  their  true  patrons,  which  have  peaceably  holden 
their  advancements  by  long  time  be  suddenly  put  out:  whereupon 
the  said  commons  have  prayed,  our  said  lord  the  king,  that  since 
the  right  of  the  crown  of  England,  and  the  law  of  the  said  realm 
is  such,  that  upon  the  mischiefs  and  damages  which  happen  to 
his  realm,  he  ought,  and  is  bound  by  his  oath,  with  the  accord  of 
his  people  in  his  parliament,  thereof  to  make  remedy  and  law, 
for  the  voiding  of  the  mischiefs  and  damages  which  thereof 
ensue,  that  it  may  please  him  therefor  to  ordain  remedy : 

Our  lord  the  king  seeing  the  mischiefs  and  damage  before 
mentioned,  and  having  regard  to  the  said  statute  made  in  the 
time  of  his  said  grandfather,  and  to  the  causes  contained  in  the 
same;  which  statute  holdeth  always  his%force,  and  was  never 
defeated  nor  annulled  in  any  point,  and  by  so  much  as  he  is 
bounden  by  his  oath  to  cause  the  same  to  be  kept  as  the  law  of 
his  realm,  though  that  by  sufferance  and  negligence  it  hath  been 
since  attempted  to  the  contrary;  also  having  regard  to  the  griev- 
ous complaints  made  to  him  by  his  people  in  divers  his  parlia- 
ments holden  heretofore,  willing  to  ordain  remedy  for  the  great 
damages  and  mischiefs  which  have  happened  and  daily  do  happen 
to  the  Church  of  England  by  the  said  cause,  by  the  assent  of  all 
the  great  men  and  the  commonalty  of  the  said  realm  to  the  honor 
of  God,  and  the  profit  of  the  said  Church  of  England,  and  of  all 
his  realm,  hath  ordained  and  established,  that  the  free  elections 
of  archbishops,  bishops,  and  all  other  dignities  and  benefices 
elective  in  England,  shall  hold  from  henceforth  in  the  manner 
as  they  were  granted  by  the  king's  progenitors,  and  founded  by 
the  ancestors  of  other  lords.  And  that  all  prelates  and  other 
people  of  holy  Church,  which  have  advowsons  of  any  benefices  of 
the  king's  gift,  or  of  any  of  his  progenitors,  or  of  other  lords  and 
donors,  to  do  divine  services,  and  other  charges  thereof  ordained, 
shall  have  their  collations  and  presentments  freely  to  the  same,  in 
the  manner  as  they  were  enfeoffed  by  their  donors.  And  in  case 
that  reservation,  collation,  or  provision  be  made  by  the  court  of 
Rome,  of  any  archbishopric,  bishopric,  dignity,  or  other  bene- 
fice, in  disturbance  of  the  elections,  collations,  or  presentations 
aforenamed  that  at  the  same  time  of  the  voidance,  when  such 
reservations,  collations,  and  provisions  shall  take  effect,  our  lord 


I2O          English  Constitutional  Documents 

the  king  and  his  heirs  shall  have  and  enjoy  for  the  same  time  the 
collations  to  the  archbishoprics,  bishoprics,  and  other  dignities 
elective,  which  be  of  his  advowry,  such  as  his  progenitors  had, 
before  that  free  election  was  granted,  seeing  that  the  elections 
were  first  granted  by  the  king's  progenitors  upon  a  certain  form 
and  condition,  as  to  demand  licence  of  the  king  to  choose,  and 
after  the  election  to  have  his  royal  assent,  and  not  in  other 
manner;  which  conditions  not  kept,  the  thing  ought  by  reason  to 
resort  to  its  first  nature.  And  if  any  such  reservation,  provision, 
or  collation  be  made  of  any  house  of  religion  of  the  king's 
advowry,  in  disturbance  of  free  election,  our  sovereign  lord  the 
king  and  its  heirs,  shall  have  for  that  time  the  collation  to  give 
this  dignity  to  a  convenient  person.  And  in  case  that  collation, 
reservation,  or  provision  be  made  by  the  court  of  Rome  of  any 
church,  prebend,  or  other  benefices,  which  be  of  the  advowry  of 
people  of  holy  Church,  whereof  the  king  is  advowee  paramount 
immediate,  that  at  the  same  time  of  the  voidance,  at  which  time 
the  collation,  reservation  or  provision  should  take  effect  as  afore 
is  said,  the  king  and 'his  heirs  shall  thereof  have  the  present- 
ment or  collation  for  that  time;  and  so  from  time  to  time,  when- 
soever such  people  of  holy  Church  shall  be  disturbed  of  their 
presentments  or  collations  by  such  reservations,  collations,  or 
provisions,  as  afore  is  said;  saving  to  them  the  right  of  their 
advowsons  and  their  presentments,  when  no  collation  or  pro- 
vision of  the  court  of  Rome  is  thereof  made,  or  where  that  the 
said  people  of  holy  Church  shall  or  will  to  the  same  benefices 
present  or  make  collation;  and  that  their  presentees  may  enjoy 
the  effect  of  their  collations  or  presentments :  and  in  the  same 
manner  every  other  lord,  of  what  condition  that  he  be,  shall  have 
the  collations  or  presentments  to  the  houses  of  religion  which  be 
of  his  advowry  and  other  benefices  of  holy  Church  which  be  per- 
taining to  the  same  houses.  And  if  such  advowees  do  not  pre- 
sent to  such  benefices  within  the  half  year  after  such  voidances, 
nor  the  bishop  of  the  place  do  not  give  the  same  by  lapse  of  time 
within  a  month  after  half  a  year,  that  then  the  king  shall  have 
thereof  the  presentments  and  collations  as  he  hath  of  other  of 
his  own  advowry.  And  in  case  that  the  presentees  of  the  king, 
or  the  presentees  of  other  patrons  of  holy  Church  or  of  their 
advowees,  or  they  to  whom  the  king,  or  such  patrons  or  advowees 
aforesaid,  have  given  benefices  pertaining  to  their  presentments 
or  collations,  be  disturbed  by  such  provisors,  so  that  they  may 
not  have  possession  of  such  benefices  by  virtue  of  the  present- 
ments or  collations  to  them  made,  or  that  they  which  be  in  pos- 


The  Statute  of  Treasons  12 1 


session  of  such  benefices  be  impeached  upon  their  said  possessions 
by  such  provisors;  then  the  said  provisors,  their  procurators, 
executors,  and  notaries,  shall  be  attached  by  their  body,  and 
brought  in  to  answer;  and  if  they  be  convict,  they  shall  abide  in 
prison  without  being  let  to  mainprise,  or  bail,  or  otherwise 
delivered,  till  that  they  have  made  fine  and  ransom  to  the  king 
at  his  will,  and  satisfaction  to  the  party  that  shall  feel  himself 
grieved.  And  nevertheless  before  that  they  be  delivered,  they 
shall  make  full  renunciation,  and  find  sufficient  surety  that  they 
shall  not  attempt  such  things  in  time  to  come,  nor  sue  any 
process  by  them,  nor  by  other,  against  any  man  in  the  court  of 
Rome,  nor  in  any  part  elsewhere,  for  any  such  imprisonments 
or  renunciations,  nor  any  other  thing  depending  of  them. 


72.  The  Statute  of  Treasons 

(March,  1352.     French  text  and  translation,  I  S.  R.  319.     2  Stubbs,  431.) 


2.  ITEM,  whereas  divers  opinions  have  been  before  this  time 
what  case  should  be  adjudged  treason,  and  what  not;  the  king, 
at  the  request  of  the  lords  and  of  the  commons,  hath  made  a 
declaration  in  the  manner  as  hereafter  followeth,  that  is  to  say; 
when  a  man  doth  compass  or  imagine  the  death  of  our  lord  the 
king,  or  of  our  lady  his  wife,  or  of  their  eldest  son  and  heir;  or 
if  a  man  do  violate  the  king's  wife,  or  the  king's  eldest  daugh- 
ter unmarried,  or  the  wife  of  the  king's  eldest  son  and  heir; 
or  if  a  man  do  levy  war  against  our  lord  the  king  in  his  realm, 
or  be  adherent  to  the  king's  enemies  in  his  realm,  giving  to  them 
aid  and  comfort  in  the  realm,  or  elsewhere,  and  thereof  be  prove- 
ably  attainted  of  open  deed  by  people  of  their  condition :  and  if 
a  man  counterfeit  the  king's  great  or  privy  seal,  or  his  money; 
and  if  a  man  bring  false  money  into  this  realm,  counterfeit  to  the 
money  of  England,  as  the  money  called  lushburgh,  or  other,  like 
to  the  said  money  of  England,  knowing  the  money  to  be  false,  to 
merchandise  or  make  payment  in  deceit  of  our  said  lord  the  king 
and  of  his  people;  and  if  a  man  slay  the  chancellor,  treasurer,  or 
the  king's  justices  of  the  one  bench  or  the  other,  justices  in  eyre, 
or  justices  of  assize,  and  all  other  justices  assigned  to  hear  and 
determine,  being  in  their  places,  doing  their  offices :  and  it  is  to 


122  English  Constitutional  Documents 

be  understood,  that  in  the  cases  above  rehearsed,  that  ought  to 
be  judged  treason  which  extends  to  our  lord  the  king,  and  his 
royal  majesty:  and  of  such  treason  the  forfeiture  of  the  escheats 
pertaineth  to  our  sovereign  lord,  as  well  of  the  lands  and  tene- 
ments holden  of  other,  as  of  himself:  and  moreover  there  is 
another  manner  of  treason,  that  is  to  say,  when  a  servant  slayeth 
his  master,  or  a  wife  her  husband,  or  when  a  man  secular  or 
religious  slayeth  his  prelate,  to  whom  he  oweth  faith  and  obedi- 
ence; and  such  manner  of  treason  giveth  forfeiture  of  escheats  to 
every  lord  of  his  own  fee :  and  because  that  many  other  like  cases 
of  treason  may  happen  in  time  to  come,  which  a  man  cannot 
think  or  declare  at  this  present  time;  it  is  accorded,  that  if  any 
other  case,  supposed  treason,  which  is  not  above  specified,  doth 
happen  of  new,  before  any  justices,  the  justices  shall  tarry  with- 
out any  going  to  judgment  of  the  treason,  till  the  case  be  showed 
before  the  king  in  his  parliament,  and  it  be  declared,  whether  it 
ought  to  be  judged  treason  or  else  felony.  And  if  perchance  any 
man  of  this  realm  ride  armed  openly  or  secretly  with  men  of 
arms  against  any  other,  to  slay  him,  or  rob  him,  or  take  him,  or 
retain  him  till  he  hath  made  fine  or  ransom  for  to  have  his 
deliverance,  it  is  not  the  mind  of  the  king  nor  his  council,  that 
in  such  case  it  shall  be  judged  treason,  but  shall  be  judged 
felony  or  trespass,  according  to  the  laws  of  the  land  of  old  time 
used,  and  according  as  the  case  requireth.  *  *  * 

22.  Item,  because  that  some  do  purchase  in  the  court  of  Rome 
provisions,  to  have  abbeys  and  priories  in  England,  in  destruc- 
tion of  the  realm,  and  of  holy  religion;  it  is  accorded,  that  every 
man  that  purchaseth  such  provisions  of  abbeys  or  priories,  that  he 
and  his  executors  and  procurators,  which  do  sue  and  make  exe- 
cution of  such  provisions,  shall  be  out  of  the  king's  protection; 
and  that  a  man  may  do  with  them  as  of  enemies  of  our  sovereign 
lord  the  king  and  his  realm;  and  he  that  offendeth  against  such 
provisors  in  body  or  in  goods,  or  in  other  possessions,  shall  be 
excused  against  all  people,  and  shall  never  be  impeached  nor 
grieved  for  the  same  at  any  man's  suit. 


Statute  of  Praemunirc  123 


73.  Statute  of  Pramunire 

(September,  1353.     French  text  and  translation,  i  S.  Jf.  329.     2  StubU 
430,  3  Stubbs,  341.) 


i.  FIRST,  because  it  is  showed  to  our  lord  the  king,  by  the 
grievous  and  clamorous  complaints  of  the  great  men  and  com- 
mons aforesaid,  how  that  divers  of  the  people  be,  and  have 
been  drawn  out  of  the  realm  to  answer  of  things,  whereof  the 
cognizance  pertaineth  to  the  king's  court;  and  also  that  the 
judgments  given  in  the  same  court  be  impeached  in  the  court  of 
another,  in  prejudice  and  disherison  of  our  lord  the  king,  and  of 
his  crown,  and  of  all  the  people  of  his  said  realm,  and  to  the 
undoing  and  destruction  of  the  common  law  of  the  same  realm 
at  all  times  used :  whereupon,  good  deliberation  had  with  the 
great  men  and  other  of  his  said  council,  it  is  assented  and  accorded 
by  our  lord  the  king,  and  the  great  men  and  commons  aforesaid, 
that  all  the  people  of  the  king's  liegeance  of  what  condition  that 
they  be,  which  shall  draw  any  out  of  the  realm  in  plea,  whereof 
the  cognizance  pertaineth  to  the  king's  court,  or  of  things  whereof 
judgments  be  given  in  the  king's  court,  or  which  do  sue  in  the 
court  of  another,  to  defeat  or  impeach  the  judgments  given  in  the 
king's  court,  shall  have  a  day  containing  the  space  of  two  months, 
by  warning  to  be  made  to  them  in  the  place  where  the  possessions 
be,  which  be  in  debate,  or  otherwise  where  they  have  lands  or 
other  possessions,  by  the  sheriffs,  or  others  the  king's  ministers, 
to  appear  before  the  king  and  his  council,  or  in  his  chancery,  or 
before  the  king's  justices  in  his  places  of  the  one  bench  or  the 
other,  or  before  other  the  king's  justices  which  to  the  same  shall 
be  deputed,  to  answer  in  their  proper  persons  to  the  king,  of  the 
contempt  done  in  this  behalf;  and  if  they  come  not  at  the  said 
day  in  their  proper  person  to  be  at  the  law,  they,  their  procu- 
rators, attorneys,  executors,  notaries,  and  maintainors,  shall  from 
that  day  forth  be  put  out  of  the  king's  protection,  and  their  lands, 
goods,  and  chattels  forfeit  to  the  king,  and  their  bodies,  where- 
soever they  may  be  found,  shall  be  taken  and  imprisoned,  and 
ransomed  at  the  king's  will;  and  upon  the  same  a  writ  shall  be 
made  to  take  them  by  their  bodies,  and  to  seise  their  lands, 
goods,  and  possessions  into  the  king's  hands;  and  if  it  be 
returned  that  they  be  not  found,  they  shall  be  put  in  exigent,  and 
outlawed. 


124  English  Constitutional  Documents 

Provided  always,  that  at  what  time  they  come  before  they  be 
outlawed,  and  will  yield  them  to  the  king's  prison  to  be  justified 
by  the  law,  and  to  receive  that  which  the  court  shall  award  in  this 
behalf,  that  they  shall  be  thereto  received;  the  forfeiture  of  the 
lands,  goods,  and  chattels  abiding  in  their  force,  if  they  do  not 
yield  them  within  the  said  two  months,  as  afore  is  said. 


74.   Ordinance  of  the  Staples 

(September,  1353.     French  text  and  translation,  i  S.  R,  332.     2  Stubbs,  431.) 

EDWARD  by  the  grace  of  God  king  of  England  and  of  France, 
and  lord  of  Ireland,  to  all  our  sheriffs,  mayors,  bailiffs, 
ministers,  and  other  our  faithful  people  to  whom  these  present 
letters  shall  come,  Greeting:  Whereas,  good  deliberation  had 
with  the  prelates,  dukes,  earls,  barons  and  knights  of  the  coun- 
ties, that  is  to  say  of  every  county,  one  for  all  the  county,  and  of 
the  commons  of  cities  and  boroughs  of  our  realm  of  England, 
summoned  to  our  great  council,  holden  at  Westminster  the  Mon- 
day next  after  the  feast  of  Saint  Matthew  the  apostle,  the  seven 
and  twentieth  year  of  our  reign  of  England,  and  of  France  the 
fourteenth,  for  the  damage  which  hath  notoriously  come  as  well 
to  us  and  to  the  great  men,  as  to  our  people  of  our  realm  of  Eng- 
land, and  of  our  lands  of  Wales  and  Ireland,  because  that  the 
staple  of  wools,  leather  and  woolfells  of  our  said  realm  and 
lands  have  been  holden  out  of  our  said  realm  and  lands,  and  also 
for  the  great  profits  which  should  come  to  the  said  realm  and 
lands  if  the  staple  were  holden  within  the  same,  and  not  else- 
where; to  the  honor  of  God,  and  in  relief  of  our  realm  and  lands 
aforesaid  and  for  to  eschew  the  perils  that  may  happen  of  the 
contrary  in  time  to  come,  by  the  counsel  and  common  assent  of 
the  said  prelates,  dukes,  earls,  and  barons,  knights  and  commons 
aforesaid,  we  have  ordained  and  established  the  things  under- 
written, that  is  to  say : 

i.  First,  that  the  staple  of  wools,  leather,  woolfells,  and  lead, 
growing  or  coming  forth  within  our  said  realm  and  lands,  shall 
be  perpetually  holden  at  the  places  underwritten;  that  is  to  say, 
for  England  at  Newcastle-upon-Tyne,  York,  Lincoln,  Norwich, 
Westminster,  Canterbury,  Chichester,  Winchester,  Exeter,  and 
Bristol;  for  Wales,  at  Carmaerthen;  and  for  Ireland,  at  Dublin, 


Ordinance  of  the  Staples  125 

Waterford,  Cork,  and  Drogheda,  and  not  elsewhere:  and  that 
all  the  said  wools,  as  well  old  as  new,  woolfells,  leather  and  lead, 
which  shall  be  carried  out  of  the  said  realm  and  lands,  shall  be 
first  brought  to  the  said  staples,  and  there  the  said  wool  and  lead, 
betwixt  merchant  and  merchant,  or  merchant  and  others,  shall 
be  lawfully  weighed  by  the  standard;  and  that  every  sack  and 
sarpler  of  the  same  wools  so  weighed,  be  sealed  under  the  seal  of 
the  mayor  of  the  staple;  and  that  all  the  wools  so  weighed  and 
sealed  at  the  staple  of  York,  Lincoln,  Norwich,  Westminster, 
Canterbury,  and  Winchester,  and  also  leather,  woolfells,  and  lead 
which  shall  come  there,  the  customs  of  the  staple  thereof  paid, 
shall  be  witnessed  by  bill,  sealed  with  the  seal  of  the  mayor  of 
the  staple,  and  brought  to  the  ports  underwritten,  that  is  to  say; 
from  York  to  Hull,  from  Lincoln  to  Saint  Botolf,  from  Norwich 
to  Great  Yarmouth,  from  Westminster  to  London,  from  Canter- 
bury to  Sandwich,  and  from  Winchester  to  Southampton;  and 
there  the  said  wools  and  lead  shall  be  another  time  weighed  by 
our  customers  assigned  in  the  same  ports;  and  all  the  wool  and 
lead  brought  to  the  said  ports  of  Newcastle,  Chichester,  Exeter, 
Bristol,  Carmaerthen,  Dublin,  Waterford,  Cork,  and  Drogheda, 
where  the  other  staples  be  holden,  shall  be  but  once  weighed  by 
the  standard  betwixt  merchant  and  merchant,  or  merchant  and 
other,  in  presence  of  our  customers  there;  and  an  indenture  shall 
be  made  betwixt  the  mayor  of  the  staple  being  in  the  port  of  the 
sea,  and  our  customers  there,  of  all  the  wools  and  lead  so  weighed, 
and  also  of  all  the  leather  and  woolfells  which  shall  come  to  the 
said  staples  to  pass  there :  and  the  same  wools  and  lead,  and  also 
the  leather  and  woolfells  customed  and  cocketed,  and  the  customs 
thereof  duly  paid  to  our  said  customers  in  all  these  said  ports,  that 
is  to  say,  of  denizens  for  the  time  that  they  have  passed,  half  a 
mark  of  a  sack  of  wool,  half  a  mark  of  three  hundred  woolfells,  a 
mark  of  a  last  of  leather,  and  of  aliens  ten  shillings  of  a  sack  of 
wool,  ten  shillings  of  three  hundred  woolfells,  and  twenty  shillings 
of  a  last  of  leather,  and  three  pence  of  every  twenty  shillings  of 
lead,  then  the  said  merchandises  shall  be  carried  by  merchants 
strangers  which  have  bought  the  same,  and  not  by  Englishmen, 
Welshmen,  nor  Irishmen,  to  the  parts  beyond  the  sea  out  of  the 
said  realm  and  lands,  to  what  parts  it  shall  please  the  said  mer- 
chants strangers:  and  that  the  said  mayor  and  customers  shall 
delay  no  man  willingly  for  gain;  nor  for  such  cause,  nor  in  other 
manner,  shall  any  take  of  any  person  to  do  that  which  pertaineth 
to  their  office,  upon  pain  of  imprisonment,  and  to  pay  the  party 
the  double  of  that  which  they  have  so  taken,  and  also  of  that  which 


126  English  Constitutional  Documents 

the  party  shall  be  endamaged  because  of  such  taking  or  delay,  and 
moreover  be  ransomed  at  our  will,  but  shall  hold  them  content  of 
that  which  they  did  take  in  certain  to  do  their  office :  and  that 
the  mayor  of  the  staple  and  customers  take  an  oath  of  all  the  mer- 
chants which  so  shall  pass  with  wools,  leather,  woolfells  and  lead 
that  they  shall  hold  no  staple  beyond  the  sea,  of  the  same 
merchandises. 

2.  Item,  *  *  *  we  have  ordained  and  established,  that  all 
merchants  strangers,  which  be  not  of  our  enmity,  of  what  land  or 
nation  that  they  be,  may  safely  and  surely  under  our  protection 
and  safe-conduct  come  and  dwell  in  our  said  realm  and  lands 
where  they  will,  and  from  thence  return  with  their  ships,  wares 
and  all  manner  of  merchandises,  and  freely  sell  their  merchan- 
dises at  the  staple  and  elsewhere  within  the  same  realm  and  lands, 
to  any  that  will  buy  them,  paying  the  customs  thereof  due.  *  *  * 


75.   Protest  of  Parliament  against  Legislation 
by  Ordinance 

(October,  1353.     French  text,  2  JR.  P.  253.     Translation  by  Editors. 
2  Stubbs,  429.) 

42.  ITEM,  because  many  articles  touching  the  estate  of  the 
king  and  the  common  profit  of  his  realm  were  accorded  and 
granted  by  him,  the  prelates,  great  men,  and  commons  of  his 
land,  at  the  council  now  held;  the  said  commons  pray  that  the 
said  articles  be  recited  at  the  next  parliament,  and  entered  in 
the  roll  in  the  same  parliament;  to  such  intent  that  the  ordi- 
nances and  accords  made  in  councils  be  not  of  record,  as  if 
they  had  been  made  by  common  parliament. 

As  to  the  tenth  article,  it  is  the  king's  pleasure  that  all  the 
ordinances  made  of  the  staple  be  published  and  proclaimed  in 
each  county  of  England  and  in  each  place  where  the  staples  are, 
to  the  end  that  they  be  firmly  kept.  And  at  the  next  parliament, 
for  greater  surety,  that  they  be  rehearsed  and  put  on  the  roll  of 
parliament. 


An  Act  concerning  Justices  of  the  Peace     127 
76.    Certain  Ordinances  confirmed  by  Parliament 

(May,  1354.  French  text,  2  R.  P.  257.    Translation  by  Editors.    2  Stubbs, 


16.  AND  so  the  said  commons  prayed  in  this  parliament, 
that  the  ordinances  of  the  staple  and  all  the  other  ordinances 
made  at  the  last  council  held  at  Westminster  the  Monday 
after  the  feast  of  Saint  Matthew  the  apostle  last  past,  which 
they  had  considered  with  good  deliberation  and  counsel  and 
which  seemed  to  them  good  and  profitable  for  our  lord  the  king 
and  all  his  people,  be  affirmed  in  this  parliament  and  held  for  a 
statute  to  endure  forever.  To  which  prayer  the  king  and  all  the 
great  men  unanimously  agreed,  as  at  all  times,  that  if  anything  is 
to  be  added  it  shall  be  added,  or  if  anything  is  to  be  repealed 
it  shall  be  repealed  in  parliament,  whenever  it  shall  be  necessary, 
and  in  no  other  manner. 


77.  An  Act  concerning  Justices  of  the   Peace 

(February,  1361.    French  text  and  translation,  I  £  X.  364.     2  Stubbs,  286.) 


i.  FIRST,  that  in  every  county  of  England  shall  be  assigned 
for  the  keeping  of  the  peace,  one  lord,  and  with  him  three 
or  four  of  the  most  worthy  in  the  county,  with  some  learned 
in  the  law,  and  they  shall  have  power  to  restrain  the  offenders, 
rioters,  and  all  other  barrators,  and  to  pursue,  arrest,  take,  and 
chastise  them  according  their  trespass  or  offence;  and  to  cause 
them  to  be  imprisoned  and  duly  punished  according  to  the  law 
and  customs  of  the  realm,  and  according  to  that  which  to  them 
shall  seem  best  to  do  by  their  discretions  and  good  advisement; 
and  also  to  inform  them,  and  to  inquire  of  all  those  that  have 
been  pillors  and  robbers  in  the  parts  beyond  the  sea,  and  be  now 
come  again,  and  go  wandering,  and  will  not  labor  as  they  were 
wont  in  times  past;  and  to  take  and  arrest  all  those  that  they 
may  find  by  indictment,  or  by  suspicion,  and  to  put  them  in 
prison;  and  to  take  of  all  them  that  be  not  of  good  fame,  where 
they  shall  be  found,  sufficient  surety  and  mainprise  of  their  good 


128  English  Constitutional  Documents 

behavior  towards  the  king  and  his  people,  and  the  other  duly  to 
punish;  to  the  intent  that  the  people  be  not  by  such  rioters  or 
rebels  troubled  nor  endamaged,  nor  the  peace  blemished,  nor 
merchants  nor  other  passing  by  the  highways  of  the  realm  dis- 
turbed, nor  put  in  fear  by  peril  which  might  happen  of  such 
offenders;  and  also  to  hear  and  determine  at  the  king's  suit  all 
manner  of  felonies  and  trepasses  done  in  the  same  county  accord- 
ing to  the  laws  and  customs  aforesaid;  and  that  writs  of  oyer  and 
determiner  be  granted  according  to  the  statutes  thereof  made,  and 
that  the  justices  which  shall  be  thereto  assigned  be  named  by  the 
court,  and  not  by  the  party.  And  the  king  will,  that  all  general 
inquiries  before  this  time  granted  within  any  seignories,  for  the 
mischiefs  and  oppressions  which  have  been  done  to  the  people 
by  such  inquiries,  shall  cease  utterly  and  be  repealed :  and  that 
fines,  which  are  to  be  made  before  justices  fora  trespass  done  by 
any  person,  be  reasonable  and  just,  having  regard  to  the  quantity 
of  the  trespass,  and  the  causes  for  which  they  may  be  made. 


78.  Purveyance,  English  to  be  used  in  the 
Courts,  etc. 

(November,  1362.    French  text  and  translation,  i  S.  R.  371.     2  Stubbs,  434.) 


2.  ITEM,  for  the  grievous  complaint  which  hath  been  made 
of  purveyors  of  victuals  of  the  houses  of  the  king,  the  queen, 
their  eldest  son,  and  of  other  lords  and  ladies  of  the  realm, 
the  king  of  his  own  will,  without  motion  of  the  great  men  or 
commons,  hath  granted  and  ordained  in  ease  of  his  people, 
that  from  henceforth  no  man  of  the  said  realm  shall  have  any 
taking,  but  only  himself  and  the  queen  his  companion;  and 
moreover,  of  the  assent  aforesaid,  it  is  ordained  and  established, 
that  upon  such  purveyances  from  henceforth  to  be  made  for  the 
houses  of  the  king  and  the  queen,  ready  payment  shall  be  made 
in  hand,  that  is  to  say,  the  price  for  which  such  victuals  be  sold 
commonly  in  the  markets  about :  *  *  * 

n.  Item,  the  king  by  the  assent  aforesaid  having  regard  to  the 
great  subsidy  that  the  commons  have  granted  now  in  this  parlia- 


Purveyance,  English  to  be  used  in  Courts,  etc.     129 

ment,  of  wools,  leather,  and  woolfells  to  be  taken  for  three  years, 
wills  and  grants  that  after  the  said  term  passed,  nothing  be  taken 
nor  demanded  of  the  said  commons,  but  only  the  ancient  custom 
of  half  a  mark;  nor  that  this  grant  now  made,  or  which  hath  been 
made  in  times  past,  shall  not  be  had  in  example  nor  charge  of 
the  said  commons  in  time  to  come:  and  that  the  merchants 
denizens  may  pass  with  their  wools  as  well  as  the  foreigns,  with- 
out being  restrained;  and  that  no  subsidy,  nor  other  charge,  be 
set  nor  granted  upon  the  wools,  by  the  merchants  nor  by  none 
other  from  henceforth,  without  the  assent  of  the  parliament. 

12.  Item,  that  in  the  commissions  of  justices  of  the  peace,  and 
of  laborers,  express  mention  be  made,  that  the  same  justices 
make  their  sessions  four  times  by  the  year,  that  is  to  say,  one 
session  within  the  utas  of  the  Epiphany,  the  second  within  the 
second  week  of  Mid-Lent,  the  third  betwixt  the  feasts  of  Pente- 
cost and  of  Saint  John  Baptist,  the  fourth  within  the  eight  days 
of  Saint  Michael. 


15.  Item,  because  it  is  often  showed  to  the  king  by  the  pre- 
lates dukes  earls,  barons,  and  all  the  commonalty,  of  the  great 
mischiefs  which  have  happened  to  divers  of  the  realm,  because 
the  laws,  customs,  and  statutes  of  this  realm  be  not  commonly 
known  in  the  same  realm,  for  that  they  be  pleaded,  showed,  and 
judged  in  the  French  tongue,  which  is  much  unknown  in  the 
said  realm;  so  that  the  people  which  do  implead,  or  be  impleaded, 
in  the  king's  court,  and  in  the  courts  of  other  have  no  knowledge 
nor  understanding  of  that  which  is  said  for  them  or  against  them 
by  their  sergeants  and  other  pleaders;  and  that  reasonably  the 
said  laws  and  customs  shall  be  the  more  soon  learned  and  known, 
and  better  understood  in  the  tongue  used  in  the  said  realm,  and 
by  so  much  every  man  of  the  said  realm  may  the  better  govern 
himself  without  offending  of  the  law,  and  the  better  keep,  save, 
and  defend  his  heritage  and  possessions;  and  in  divers  regions 
and  countries  where  the  king,  the  nobles,  and  other  of  the  said 
realm  have  been,  good  governance  and  full  right  is  done  to  every 
person,  because  that  their  laws  and  customs  be  learned  and  used 
in  the  tongue  of  the  country :  the  king,  desiring  the  good  gov- 
ernance and  tranquillity  of  his  people,  and  to  put  out  and  eschew 
the  harms  and  mischiefs  which  do  or  may  happen  in  this  behalf 
by  the  occasions  aforesaid,  hath  ordained  and  established  by  the 
assent  aforesaid,  that  all  pleas  which  shall  be  pleaded  in  his  court 
whatsoever,  before  any  of  his  justices  whatsoever,  or  in  his  other 


130          English  Constitutional   Documents 

places,  or  before  any  of  his  other  ministers  whatsoever,  or  in  the 
courts  and  places  of  any  other  lords  whatsoever  within  the  realm, 
shall  be  pleaded,  showed,  defended,  answered,  debated,  and 
judged  in  the  English  tongue,  and  that  they  be  entered  and 
inrolled  in  Latin;  and  that  the  laws  and  customs  of  the  same 
realm,  terms,  and  processes,  be  holden  and  kept  as 'they  be  and 
have  been  before  this  time;  and  that  by  the  ancient  terms  and 
form  of  pleaders  no  man  be  prejudiced,  so  that  the  matter  of  the 
action  be  fully  showed  in  the  declaration  and  in  the  writ :  and 
it  is  accorded  by  the  assent  aforesaid,  that  this  ordinance  and 
statute  of  pleading  begin  and  hold  place  at  the  fifteenth  of  Saint 
Hilary  next  coming. 


79.   Refusal  of  Tribute  to  the  Pope 

(May,  1366.    French  text,  2  J?.  P.  290.    Translation  by  Editors. 

2    Stubbs,    435.) 

7.  *  *  *  HE  (the  chancellor)  told  them  how  the  king  had 
heard  that  the  pope,  by  force  of  an  agreement  which  he  said 
that  king  John  had  made  with  the  pope,  to  do  him  homage  for 
the  realm  of  England  and  the  land  of  Ireland,  and  that  by  reason 
of  the  said  homage,  he  ought  to  pay  each  year  forever  a  thousand 
marks,  is  minded  to  institute  process  against  the  king  and  his 
realm  for  the  said  service  and  to  recover  the  tribute.  Wherefore 
the  king  prayed  the  said  prelates,  dukes,  earls,  and  barons  for 
their  advice  and  good  council,  as  to  what  he  should  do  in  case 
the  pope  should  proceed  against  him  or  his  said  realm  for  that 
cause.  And  the  prelates  asked  the  king  to  allow  them  to  take 
counsel  by  themselves  alone  and  to  answer  on  the  morrow.  On 
the  said  morrow,  first  the  prelates  by  themselves,  and  then  the 
other  dukes,  earls,  barons,  and  great  men  answered  and  said,  that 
neither  the  said  king  John,  nor  any  other  could  put  himself  nor 
his  realm  nor  his  people  in  such  subjection,  without  their  assent 
and  accord.  And  the  commons  having  been  questioned  upon 
this  and  having  taken  counsel  answered  in  like  manner.  *  *  * 


Grant  of  Tunnage  and  Poundage  131 

80.   Lawyers  and  Sheriffs  excluded  from 
Parliament 

(November,  1372.     French  text  and  translation,  i  S.  R.  394.     2  Stnbbs,  445.) 

WHEREAS  men  of  the  law  who  follow  divers  businesses  in 
the  king's  courts  on  behalf  of  private  persons,  with  whom 
they  are,  do  procure  and  cause  to  be  brought  into  parliament 
many  petitions  in  the  name  of  the  commons,  which  in  no  wise 
relate  to  them,  but  only  the  private  persons  with  whom  they  are 
engaged;  also  sheriffs  who  are  common  officers  for  the  people, 
and  ought  to  be  abiding  in  their  office,  for  the  doing  right  to 
every  one,  are  named,  and  have  heretofore  been  and  returned  to 
parliament  knights  of  the  shires,  by  the  same  sheriffs;  it  is 
accorded  and  assented  in  this  parliament,  that  hereafter  no  man 
of  the  law  following  business  in  the  king's  court,  nor  any  sheriff 
for  the  time  that  he  is  sheriff,  be  returned  nor  accepted  knights  of 
the  shires;  nor  that  they  who  are  men  of  the  law  and  sheriffs  now 
returned  to  parliament  have  any  wages;  but  the  king  willeth  that 
knights  and  sergeants  of  the  most  worthy  of  the  county  be  here- 
after returned  knights  in  parliament;  and  that  they  be  elected  in 
full  county. 

81.  Grant  of  Tunnage  and  Poundage,  by 
Citizens  and  Burgesses  alone 

(November,  1372.     French  text,  2  K.  P.  310.    Translation  by  Editors. 
2  Stubbs,  444,  557.) 

14.  AND  after  this  leave  was  given  to  the  knights  of  the  shires 
to  depart  and  to  sue  out  their  writs  for  their  expenses.     And  so 
they  departed. 

15.  But  the  citizen  and  burgesses  who  had  come  to  the  said 
parliament,  were  commanded  to  tarry  for  certain  reasons,  which 
citizens  and  burgesses,   the  next  day  after,   having  assembled 
before  the  prince  and  others,  prelates  and  great  men,  in  a  cham- 
ber near  the  white  chamber,  it  was  shown  to  them,  how  the  year 
before,  grant  had  been  made  for  a  certain  term  for  the  safe  and 
sure  conduct  of  the  ships  and  merchandises  coming  to  this  land 
by  sea  and  passing  from  it,  a  subsidy,  that  is  to  say,  on  each  tun 
oi  wine  coming  into  this  land,  two  shillings,  and  of  each  pound 


ij 2  English  Constitutional  Documents 

of  merchandise  of  what  sort  soever,  both  that  entering  and  that 
leaving,  six  pence,  which  term  is  already  past.  That  they  in 
consideration  of  the  perils  and  mischiefs  which  might  come  to 
their  ships  and  merchandises  at  the  hands  of  enemies  on  the  sea, 
should  will  to  grant  such  a  subsidy  to  endure  for  a  year,  for  the 
said  reasons.  Which  subsidy  they  granted  to  the  king  to  take 
and  to  levy  in  the  manner  in  which  it  was  taken  and  levied  in  the 
year  last  past.  And  so  they  departed. 


82.    Impeachment  of  Richard  Lyons 

(May,  1376.     French  text,  2  R.  P.  323.    Translation  by  Editors. 
2  Stubbs,  451,  593.) 

17.  FIRST,  Richard  Lyons,  merchant  of  London,  was  im- 
peached and  accused  by  the  said  commons  of  many  deceptions, 
extortions,  and  other  crimes  committed  by  him  against  the 
king  our  lord,  and  against  his  people  as  well  during  the  time 
when  he  was  in  attendance  upon  the  household  and  council  of 
the  king  as  also  during  the  time  when  he  was  farmer  of  the 
subsidies  and  customs  of  the  king.  And  especially  because  the 
said  Richard,  by  covenant  made  between  him  and  certain  of 
the  privy  council  of  our  lord  the  king  to  secure  their  own  profit 
and  advantage  thereof,  has  procured  the  making  of  many  patents 
and  writs  of  licence  for  carrying  great  quantities  of  wool,  wool- 
fells,  and  other  merchandises  to  places  outside  of  the  staple  of 
Calais,  contrary  to  the  ordinances  and  prohibitions  made  before 
this  time  in  parliament,  to  the  damage  of  the  same  staple  of 
Calais  and  of  the  revenue  there,  to  the  great  damage  of  the  king 
and  of  the  realm  of  England  and  to  the  ruin  of  the  city  of  Calais 
aforesaid.  And  also,  because  he  has  put  and  procured  to  be  put 
upon  the  wool,  woolfells,  and  other  merchandises,  certain  new 
impositions  without  the  assent  of  parliament,  and  he  has  levied 
and  collected  those  impositions  largely  for  his  own  use  and  for 
the  use  of  those  about  the  king  who  are  of  the  said  covenant, 
without  the  oversight  or  witness  of  any  comptroller,  and  without 
his  being  charged  by  record  or  otherwise  except  at  his  will, 
but  he  alone  is  sole  treasurer  and  receiver,  and  the  high  treas- 
urer of  the  realm  does  not  interfere  at  all.  And  it  is  com- 
monly said  that  he  takes  in  certain  from  a  parcel  ten  shillings, 
and  from  other  parcels  twelve  pence,  from  each  sack  etc.,  which 


Impeachment  of  Richard  Lyons  133 

amounts  to  a  vast  sum  for  all  the  time  that  he  has  been  receiver 
and  treasurer  thereof,  as  is  aforesaid.  And  likewise  of  another 
new  imposition  of  four  pence  made  and  put  by  him  upon  each 
pound  of  coin  sent  abroad  by  Lombards  and  other  merchants,  in 
the  way  of  exchange,  by  his  own  authority  and  without  warrant 
or  assent  of  parliament,  or  otherwise.  And  this  same  imposition 
of  four  pence  on  the  pound,  a  great  portion  collected  and  held 
for  the  use  of  the  king,  he  pays  our  lord  the  king  nothing  thereof. 
And  also  of  various  loans  made  for  the  use  of  the  king  without 
necessary  cause :  and  especially  of  one  loan  which  was  recently 
made  in  London  of  twenty  thousand  marks,  for  which  twenty 
thousand  marks  our  lord  the  king  was  obliged  to  repay  thirty 
thousand  marks;  and  this  by  the  advice  of  the  said  Richard,  and 
of  other  privy  councillors  about  the  king,  who  had  agreed  with 
the  creditors  to  receive  part  of  the  profit,  and  to  be  partners 
secretly  in  the  said  loan:  to  which  loan  the  said  Richard  fur- 
nished his  own  money  and  afterwards  gained  by  way  of  usury 
from  the  king  his  lord,  of  whose  council  he  had  formerly  been  a 
member,  a  great  quantity  of  coin  to  the  great  damage  and  decep- 
tion of  the  king.  And  also  of  many  other  extortions,  frauds, 
deceptions,  oppressions,  champerties,  and  maintenances,  com- 
mitted against  our  lord  the  king  and  against  his  people,  in  every 
part  of  the  realm,  as  well  during  the  time  that  the  said  Richard 
was  farmer  of  the  subsidies  and  customs  of  the  king  throughout 
the  realm,  and  thus  acted  toward  him  and  his  council,  and  treas- 
urer or  receiver  of  the  said  new  impositions,  as  at  other  times, 
by  taking  upon  himself  notoriously  the  royal  power  in  all  the  said 
things,  which  would  have  been  a  horrible  matter  to  rehearse  in  full. 
And  also  in  that  when  the  king  our  lord  was  debtor  of  record  for 
many  great  sums  of  money  to  various  persons,  the  said  Richard  by 
the  assent  of  other  privy  councillors  about  the  king,  of  his  said 
covenant,  made  bargains  in  many  such  debts,  some  at  one  time  for 
the  tenth  penny  and  at  another  time  for  the  twentieth  or  the 
hundredth  penny,  and  obtained  the  payment  of  the  entire  debt 
by  the  king.  And  also  by  his  subtleties  of  this  sort,  and  for  his 
personal  profit,  both  the  king  our  lord  and  the  said  debtors  were 
foully  deceived;  and  especially  the  prior  of  Saint  John  of  Jerusa- 
lem in  England,  to  whom  the  king  was  debtor  for  a  certain  sum, 
and  the  said  Richard  had  thereof  four  marks  out  of  every  twenty 
as  brokerage,  for  obtaining  for  the  prior  the  payment  of  the 
balance.  And  at  another  time  of  the  lord  le  Despenser,  to  whom 
the  king  was  also  debtor;  and  the  said  Richard  obtained  from 
him,  in  the  same  manner  another  large  sum  of  money.  And 


134          English  Constitutional  Documents 

also,  of  many  others,  to  the  great  deception,  slander,  and  degra- 
dation of  the  king  and  of  his  court. 

1 8.  To  which  the  said  Richard,  being  present  in  parliament, 
replied,  that  as  to  the  loan  made  to  the  king  of  the  twenty  thou- 
sand marks  aforesaid,  he  was  entirely  free  from  any  blame.    And 
further  he  said  that  he  had  thereof  neither  profit  nor  gain,  nor 
did  he  furnish  anything  to  the  loan  aforesaid,  in  money,  nor  in 
anything  else :  and  this  he  was  ready  to  prove  by  all  the  reason- 
able means  that  might  be  demanded.     And  as  to  the  said  impo- 
sition of  ten  shillings  and  of  twelve  pence  on  the  sack  of  wool 
etc.,  and  of  four  pence  on  the  pound  of  coin  he  could  not 
clearly  excuse  himself  of  having  also  levied  and  collected  them 
and  of  taking  thereof  a  portion  for  himself  that  is  to  say,  twelve 
pence  from  each  sack  of  wool,  etc.     But  this  he  did,  he  said,  at 
the  express  command  of  our  lord  the  king  and  at  the  prayer  and 
with  the  consent  of  the  merchants  who  asked  for  such  licences. 
And  as  to  the  residue  of  those  impositions,  he  had  caused  them 
to  be  entirely  delivered  to  the  receiver  of  the  chamber  of  the  king 
and  had  accounted  therefor  fully  in  the  said  chamber.     And  the 
said  Richard  was  told  that  for  it  he  ought  to  produce  the  warrant 
under  the  authority  of  which  he  had  done  the  said  things.     But 
no  warrant  nor  authorization  was  produced  in  parliament  under 
the  seal  of  the  king,  nor  otherwise;  save  only  that  he  said,  that 
he  had  commandment  therefor  from  the  king  himself  and  from 
his  council  to  do  it.    And  upon  this,  testimony  was  given  openly 
in  parliament,  that  our  lord  the  king  had  said  expressly  the  day 
before  to  certain  lords  here  present  in  parliament,  that  he  did 
not  know  how  nor  in  what  manner  he  had  entered  into  such  an 
office  with  regard  to  him;  and  furthermore,  he  did  not  recognize 
him  as  his  officer.     And  as  to  the  other  articles  the  said  Richard 
made  no  answer;  but  he  said  that  if  he  had  committed  offence 
or  done  wrong  in  any  wise,  he  placed  himself  at  the  mercy  of  the 
king  our  lord. 

19.  Thereupon  the  said  Richard  was  ordered  to  prison  during 
the  king's  pleasure;  and  to  be  put  to  fine  and  ransom,  according 
to  the  amount  and  heinousness  of  his  offence:  and  that  he  lose 
his  liberty  of  the  city  of  London,  and  that  he  never  hold  office 
of  the  king  nor  enter  the  council  nor  the  palace  of  the  king.    And 
accordingly,  the  said  Richard  was  afterwards  brought  before  the 
lords  of  parliament,  and  there  he  was  told  that  it  seemed  to  the 
lords  that  his  evil  deeds  were  so  great  and  heinous  that  he  could 
not  make  adequate  satisfaction  for  them.     And  at  once  the  said 
Richard  placed  at  the  mercy  of  the  king,  his  person,  his  lands, 


Grant  of  a  Poll  Tax  135 

tenements,  goods,  and  chattels;  and  there  willed  and  granted 
that  his  person,  lands,  goods,  and  chattels  should  be  at  the  mercy 
of  the  king  to  ordain  and  to  do  therewith  as  was  his  pleasure: 
requesting  the  king  to  grant  him  his  life,  if  it  were  his  pleasure; 
and  if  that  were  not  his  pleasure,  that  he  should  do  with  him 
and  his,  his  entire  will.  Wherefore  it  is  also  adjudged  that  all 
his  lands,  tenements,  goods,  and  chattels  be  seised  into  the  hands 
of  the  king,  and  that  his  person  remain  in  prison,  during  the 
king's  pleasure.  And  as  to  the  extortions  committed  by  the  said 
Richard  or  his  deputies  during  the  time  that  he  was  farmer  of 
the  said  subsidies  or  custom,  as  is  above  said,  it  is  ordained  in 
parliament,  that  good  inquisition  be  made  by  proper  persons  in 
all  the  ports  of  England. 


83.  Grant  of  a  Poll  Tax,  and  Petition  for 
special  Treasurers 

(February,  1377.     French  text,  2  R.  P.  364.    Translation  by  Editors. 
2  Stubbs.  459.) 

19.  THE  noble  lords  and  commons  assembled  in  this  parlia- 
ment perceiving  clearly  the  great  charges  and  the  very  grievous 
and  insupportable  expenses  which  our  lord  the  king  makes  and 
still  must  needs  make  more  and  more  every  day,  as  well,  that  is 
to  say  in  the  maintenance  of  the  war  and  the  defense  of  the 
realm  of   England,  as  otherwise,  of   their  common  assent  and 
free  will,  have  granted  to  our  said  lord  the  king  in  mainte- 
nance of  his  said  wars,  four  pence  to  be  taken  of  the  goods  of 
each  person  of  the  said  realm,  as  well  males  as  females,  above 
the  age  of  fourteen  years.     Excepting  only  genuine  mendicants 
without  fraud.    Praying  most  humbly  to  their  said  liege  lord  that 
it  will  please  him  to  excuse  them  because  they  are  not  now  able 
to  grant  a  greater  subsidy :  for,  they  would  have  been  most  willing 
to  do  this,  if  it  had  not  been  that  they  had  been  so  impoverished 
in  the  past,  as  well  by  great  losses  on  the  sea,  as  otherwise  by  bad 
years  which  had  befallen  them  so  that  they  are  not  able  to  do 
more  at  present. 

20.  And  also  the  said  commons  pray  that  it  may  please  our  lord 
the  king  to  name  two  earls  and  two  barons,  of  those  who  shall 
seem  to  him  best,  who  shall  be  guardians  and  treasurers  as  well 
of  this  subsidy  now  granted  and  of  the  subsidy  which  the  clergy 


136  English  Constitutional  Documents 

of  England  is  yet  to  grant  to  the  king  our  lord,  as  of  the  subsidy 
of  wool,  leather,  and  woolfells  granted  in  the  last  parliament: 
and  that  these  four  earls  and  barons  be  sworn  in  their  presence 
that  whatever  is  received  by  them  of  the  said  subsidies  shall  be 
wholly  expended  for  the  said  wars  and  for  no  other  work;  and 
that  the  high  treasurer  of  England  shall  receive  nothing  of  it  and 
shall  not  meddle  in  it  in  any  manner. 


84.  Persons  appointed  to  supervise  Expenditures 

(1377.    French  original,  3  R.  P.  7.    Translation  by  Editors.     2  Stubbs, 
465,  5970 

27.  ITEM,  the  lords  and  commons  of  the  realm  of  England, 
perceiving  clearly  the  great  peril  of  the  realm,  that  it  is  on 
the  point  of  being  lost,  if  God  does  not  give  a  remedy  for  it 
most  speedily,  amid  the  great  wars  which  are  waged  against  it 
and  quite  openly  on  either  side  as  well  by  land  as  by  sea,  of 
which  there  is  more  to  be  feared  than  ever  before :  And  therefore 
in  aid  of  the  expenditures  which  must  be  made  for  the  conduct 
of  the  war  of  the  realm  in  resisting  so  many  enemies  and  for  the 
aid  and  rescue  of  the  realm  aforesaid,  for  the  aid  of  our  lord  they 
now  of  their  free  will  grant  to  the  said  king  our  lord,  two  fif- 
teenths outside  the  cities  and  boroughs,  and  two  tenths  within 
the  said  cities  and  boroughs,  to  be  levied  on  their  goods;  *  *  * 
And  humbly  praying  their  liege  lord  and  the  other  lords  of  par- 
liament, that  as  well  of  these  moneys  as  of  the  money  of  the  tenths 
now  to  be  granted  by  the  clergy  of  England  and  also  of  the  moneys 
arising  from  the  subsidies  of  wools,  certain  suitable  persons  shall 
be  appointed  by  the  king  to  be  treasurers  or  guardians  to  such 
effect  that  these  moneys  shall  be  entirely  applied  to  the  expenses 
of  the  war  and  to  nothing  else  in  any  way.  And  be  it  remem- 
bered that  this  request  was  granted  them  by  the  king,  saving  to 
the  king  entirely  his  old  duty  of  half  a  mark  from  citizens  and 
ten  shillings  from  foreigners  due  on  each  sack  of  wool  exported 
from  the  realm,  etc.  And  thereupon  our  lord  the  king  appointed 
William  Walworth  and  John  Philipot,  merchants  of  London,  to 
be  guardians  of  the  said  sums  for  the  use  aforesaid,  and  to  render 
faithful  account  of  their  receipts  and  expenditures  in  such  man- 
ner as  shall  be  ordained  by  our  lord  the  king  and  his  said  great 
council  in  reasonable  manner.  And  thereupon,  by  command- 
ment of  our  said  lord  the  king,  the  said  William  and  John 


Account  of  Expenditures  required  by  Parliament     137 

accepted  their  charge  and  they  took  oath  and  swore  in  the  pres- 
ence of  the  king  himself  in  full  parliament  to  do  this  faithfully. 
Saving  always  to  the  king,  that  he  should  be  repaid  first  for  the 
sum  expended  by  him  and  paid  for  this  last  expedition  by  sea, 
which  amounts  to  more  than  fifteen  thousand  pounds  sterling,  for 
which  the  king  is  still  debtor  to  his  creditors. 


85.   Account  of  Expenditures  required  by 
Parliament 

(1378.     French  original,  3  R.  P.  35.    Translation  by  Editors.     2  Stubbs, 
467,  5980 

20.  AXD  thereupon  the  commons,  after  considerable  delib- 
eration, make  request  once  more  to  our  lord  the  king  that  it 
may  please  him  to  communicate  to  his  said  commons  how  and 
in  what  manner  were  expended  the  said  great  sums  thus  given 
and  granted  for  the  said  war;   and  that   proper  order  should 
be  made,  that  if  it  should  so  happen  that  any  lord  or  any  other 
person  engaged  for  the  last  expedition  or  anywhere  else  had  a 
smaller  number  of  men  to  his  credit  than  he  had  engaged  to  have 
with  him  and  had  received  wages  and  money  of  the  king,  that 
surplus  money  over  and  above  the  wages  of  the  men  shown  should 
be  repaid  to  our  said  lord  the  king  to  be  used  for  the  war,  in  dis- 
charge,  therefore  of   the  commons  aforesaid.      And  they  also 
make  request  that  it  may  please  our  lord  the  king  to  grant  that 
the  commons  shall  be  informed  of  the  names  of  those  who  are  to 
be  the  great  officers  of  the  realm  and  of  those  who  are  to  be 
councilors  to  our  lord  the  king  and  governors  of  his  person, 
inasmuch  as  he  is  thus  of  tender  age,  for  the  ensuing  year,  accord- 
ing to  the  manner  at  other  times  ordained  in  parliament. 

21.  To  which  answer  was  made  by  the  said  Monsieur  Richard 
at  the  said  commandment  that  it  had  never  been  known  that,  of 
a  subsidy  or  other  grant  made  to  the  king  in  parliament  or  out  of 
parliament  by  the  commons,  an  account  had  afterwards  been  ren- 
dered to  the  commons  or  to  any  one  else  except  to  the  king  and 
his  officers;  nevertheless  that  our  said  lord  the  king  wills  and 
commands,   for  the  satisfaction  of  his   commons,  of  his   own 
motion,  without  doing  it  of  right  or  by  constraint  of  the  said 
request  now  made  to  him,  that  the  said  William  VValworth  here 
present  together  with  certain  other  persons  of  the  council  of  our 


ij 8  English  Constitutional  Documents 

lord  the  king  assigned  thereto  by  the  king,  shall  clearly  set  forth 
to  you  in  writing  the  receipts  and  expenditures  made  therefor,  on 
this  agreement,  that  this  shall  not  in  future  be  considered  a  prece- 
dent or  an  inference  that  this  should  have  been  done  otherwise 
than  by  the  personal  volition  and  command  alone  of  our  said 
lord  the  king  as  has  been  said.  And  as  to  the  surplus  of  the 
wages  received  over  and  above  the  men  shown,  you  shall  know 
that  this  belongs  to  our  said  lord  the  king  and  his  ministers  of 
the  exchequer  and  to  no  one  else;  and  those  of  the  exchequer 
should  not  pay  any  attention  to  such  matters  nor  should  they  keep 
any  record  of  these  things,  but  that  the  greatest  lord  of  England 
should  do  it. 

And  as  to  the  said  officers  and  councillors,  our  said  lord  the 
king  by  the  advice  of  the  lords  has  chosen  the  said  officers,  and 
his  councillors  shall  be  of  such  as  shall  please  him,  as  soon  as  he 
shall  be  able  to  attend  to  it;  of  which  names  you  shall  be  duly 
informed,  if  it  please  the  king. 


86.  The  King  orders  Accounts  submitted 
to  Parliament 

(1379.     French  original,  3  J?.  P.  56.     Translation  by  Editors.     2  Stubbs, 
468,  698.) 

7.  AND  that  you  [Parliament]  may  be  fully  informed  of  the 
real  nature  of  the  said  necessary  expenditures  made  and  to  be 
made,  the  treasurers  for  the  said  war  shall  be  present  and  shall 
appear,  at  such  an  hour  as  pleases  you,  to  show  you  clearly 
in  writing  their  receipts  and  expenditures  made  since  the 
last  parliament,  and  the  amounts  due,  with  the  other  necessary 
expenditures  above  mentioned,  to  be  made  for  the  march  of 
Calais,  at  Cherbourg,  at  Brest,  in  the  marches  of  Scotland,  in 
Ireland,  and  elsewhere.  And  our  lord  the  king  wills  that,  if  any- 
one in  the  realm  shall  feel  aggrieved  at  anything  done  to  him 
wrongly  and  contrary  to  the  law,  which  cannot  be  remedied  with- 
out parliament,  he  shall  bring  forward  his  petition  in  the  matter 
in  parliament,  and  for  receiving,  trying,  and  examining  such 
bills,  our  said  lord  the  king  has  made  assignment  of  certain  pre- 
lates, lords,  justices,  and  clerks,  in  the  form  and  manner  which 
follows:  and  he  wills  and  commands  that  full  justice  shall  be 


King  orders  Accounts  submitted  to  Parliament     139 

done  and  ordained  in  this  parliament  to  all  men,  as  well  to  the 
least  as  to  the  greatest;  and  that  this  present  parliament  shall  con- 
tinue from  day  to  day  until  the  king  our  lord  shall  give  you  his 
leave  and  license  to  depart. 

12.  These  are  the  names  of  the  prelates  and  lords  appointed  to 
examine  the  estate  of  the  king,  at  the  request  of  the  commons; 
that  is  to  say,  the  archbishop  of  Canterbury,  the  bishop  of  Lon- 
don, the  bishop  of  Rochester,  the  Earl  of  March,  the  earl  of 
Warwick,  the  earl  of  Stafford,  the  Lord  Latimer,  Guy  de  Brienne, 
or  John  Cobham,  and  Roger  Beauchamp.  First,  to  examine  the 
revenues  accruing  from  the  subsidy  of  wools  received  since  the 
last  feast  of  St.  Michael  and  which  probably  will  be  received 
before  the  coming  feast  of  St.  Michael.  Item,  to  examine  as 
well  all  the  revenues  of  the  realm  received  since  the  said  time, 
also  the  revenues  of  the  alien  priors  and  the  ancient  maletote 
of  wools,  the  vacancies  of  the  bishoprics  and  abbeys,  and  all 
other  profits  whatsoever,  and  those  which  will  probably  be 
received  and  levied  before  the  said  feast  of  St.  Michael,  both 
by  the  hands  of  the  treasurer  of  war  as  the  collector  and  of  the 
hanaper  of  the  chancery  and  all  other  offices  whatsoever  of  our 
lord  the  king.  Item,  to  examine  what  manner  of  fees  or  wages 
were  used  to  be  taken  by  the  grand  and  petty  officers  of  the 
king  in  the  time  of  King  Edward,  the  grandfather  of  our  lord 
who  now  is.  Item,  to  examine  what  annuities  granted  by  our 
lord  the  king,  the  said  grandfather,  and  by  the  prince,  whom 
God  assoil,  were  paid.  Item,  to  examine  the  properties  of  the 
royal  grandfather,  that  is  to  say,  where  they  have  gone  and  into 
whose  hands,  and  what  persons  were  paid  in  discharge  of  the 
alms  of  the  said  grandfather;  and  what  part  thereof  remains  for 
the  use  of  our  lord  the  king;  and  what  has  become  of  the  rest. 
And  that  those  who  have  the  distribution  thereof  be  held  to 
account  by  the  said  lords,  and  whether  they  have  come  to  the 
profit  of  the  king  in  discharge  of  his  people,  or  not.  Item,  to 
look  over  and  examine  the  sum  of  the  expenses  of  the  household 
of  our  lord  the  king,  calling  before  them  the  officers  of  the  afore- 
said household,  the  better  to  inform  themselves.  Item,  the  ward- 
ships, marriages,  forfeitures  and  escheats.  Item,  the  revenues 
of  Calais,  and  the  other  castles  and  fortresses,  the  other  revenues 
of  the  war  by  sea  and  by  land.  Item,  the  revenues  of  Bordeaux, 
that  is  to  say,  of  wine  and  money,  and  other  such  profits.  Item, 
the  subsidy  of  cloths,  that  is  to  say,  the  cloth  with  the  seal 
eighteen  pence.  Item,  the  profits  from  the  possessions  of  the 
rebellious  cardinals.  Item,  to  see  to  it  that  those  who  have  taken 


140  English  Constitutional  Documents 

wages  for  the  war  be  made  to  give  account  of  them  and  to  answei 
for  that  which  remains  in  their  hands.  Item,  of  the  moneys 
called  Roman  pence,  which  amounts  to  a  great  sum,  and  of  the 
arrears  of  many  years.  And  be  it  remembered  that  the  said  lords 
appointed  have  themselves  the  command  of  the  king  in  parlia- 
ment to  enter,  that  is  to  say,  altogether  or  three  of  them  at  least, 
of  whom  one  should  be  of  each  rank,  the  places  and  offices  of  the 
king  which  shall  be  necessary  for  this  matter,  with  the  officers  or 
guardians  of  the  same,  and  to  examine  together  with  the  said 
officers  the  rolls,  accounts,  and  whatsoever  other  things  touch 
upon  this  matter,  and  to  do  and  accomplish  as  much  as  is  said 
above  and  to  report  distinctly  to  our  said  lord  the  king  and  to 
his  council  what  they  shall  have  done  or  found,  with  their  best 
advice  on  this  matter.  And  our  lord  the  king  wills  and  com- 
mands all  his  officers  and  ministers  of  the  said  places  to  show  to 
the  said  lords  appointed,  or  three  of  them,  the  rolls,  accounts, 
tallies,  and  whatsoever  other  evidences  touch  this  matter  and  to 
attend  them  in  the  manner  before  said  as  much  and  as  often  as 
they  shall  be  required  by  the  said  lords  or  any  of  them. 


87.    The  Poll-tax  of  1379 

(1379.    French  original.     3  K.  P.  57.    Translation  by  Editors. 
2  Stubbs,  468.) 

13.  ITEM,  the  lords  and  commons  of  the  realm  of  England 
sitting  in  this  parliament  grant  for  themselves  and  for  all  the 
commons  of  England  the  subsidy  of  wools,  leather,  and  wool- 
fells;  and  another  subsidy,  to  be  taken  of  the  goods  of  certain 
persons  in  the  realm,  under  a  certain  form  and  manner  em- 
bodied in  a  schedule  made  thereof  and  delivered  before  parlia- 
ment, the  tenor  of  which  follows  word  for  word  : 

The  lords  and  commons  of  the  realm  of  England  considering 
the  great  needs  of  the  said  realm  and  the  malice  of  the  enemies 
in  France  and  elsewhere,  desiring  the  great  recovery  of  the  said 
realm  and  the  destruction  of  the  said  enemies,  *  *  *  grant,  that 
if  the  mark  on  the  sack  of  wools  and  the  six  pence  on  the  pound 
which  were  granted  at  the  last  parliament  held  at  Gloucester,  be 
excused  and  annulled  at  present,  the  subsidy  of  wools  to  last  for 
one  entire  year  after  the  feast  of  St.  Michael  next  to  come;  that 
is  to  say,  on  each  sack  as  much  as  was  granted  before  the  said 


The  Poll-tax  of  1379  141 

parliament  of  Gloucester,  and  a  sum  of  money  to  be  levied  upon 
divers  persons  of  the  realm  in  the  following  manner,  as  well  within 
the  royal  franchises  as  without;  that  is  to  say, 

14.   The  Duke  of  Lancaster  and  the  Duke  of  Brittany, 

each  one 10  marks 

Item,  each  earl  of  England 4  pounds 

Item,  each  widowed  countess  in  England,  the  same  as  the  earls   .  4  pounds 

Item,  each  baron  and  banneret,  or  knight  of  equal  wealth    .        .  .      40  s. 

Item,  each  widowed  baroness  shall  pay  as  the  baron  and  each 

widow  of  a  knight  as  the  knight 40 :. 

Item,  each  bachelor  and  each  esquire  who  by  the  statute  ought 

to  be  knight 20 .-. 

Item,  each  widowed  lady,  wife  of  a  bachelor  or  esquire,  accord- 
ing to  her  condition 20  :. 

Item,  each  esquire  of  less  estate 6s.  8  J. 

Item,  each  widow  of  such  an  esquire  or  merchant  of  sufficient  means  6s.  8  d. 

Item,  each  esquire  possessing  neither  land  nor  rent,  nor  castles, 

who  is  in  service,  or  under  arms 3  s.  4  d. 

Item,  the  chief  prior  of  the  Hospital  of  St.  John,  as  a  baron          .  40  s. 

Item,  each  commander  of  this  Order  of  England,  as  a  bachelor     .  20  s. 

Item,  each  other  brother  knight  of  the  said  Order         .        .        .  13*.  $d. 

Item,  all  the  other  brothers  of  the  said  Order,  each  as  an  esquire 

without  possessions  . 3«-4<£ 

15.  Item,  each  justice,  as  well  of  one  bench  as  of  the  other,  and 
those  who  have  been  justices  of  the  same  benches,  and  the 

chief  baron  of  the  exchequer,  each 1001. 

Item,  each  sergeant  and  greater  apprentice  of  the  law  .        .         .  40  s. 

Item,  other  apprentices  who  follow  the  law,  each          .         .        .  20  s. 

Item,  all  the  other  apprentices  of  less  estate,  and  attorneys,  each  .         6s.  8  d. 

16.  Item,  the  mayor  of  London  pays  as  an  earl    ....       4  pounds 

Item,  the  aldermen  of  London,  each  as  a  baron 40  s. 

Item,  all  the  mayors  of  the  large  towns  of  England,  each  as  a  baron     .      405. 
Item,  the  other  mayors  of  the  other  small  towns,  according  to  the   (  2os., 

condition  of  their  estate I  los^ot 

I  1/2  mark 
And  all  the  aldermen  of  the  large  towns,  and  the  great  merchants 

of  the  realm,  pay  as  bachelors       .        .        .        .        .        .        .      20  s. 

Item,  other  merchants  of  sufficient  means     .         .         .         .         .         13*.  4^. 

Item,  all  the  lesser  merchants  and  artificers  who  have  profit  (6s.8J., 

of  the  land,  according  to  the  condition  of  their  estate        \  3  s.  4  <£, 


142  English  Constitutional  Documents 

Item,  each  sergeant  and  franklin  of  the  country,  according  to  his 

estate 

\  40  d. 

Item,  the  farmers  of  the  manors,  benefices,  and  granges,  merchants 

of  cattle  and  of  other  small  merchandise,  according  to  their  f  1/2  mark, 

estate J  40^.,  2j., 

[  or  1 2  d. 
17.   Item,  all  the  advocates,  notaries,  and  married  solicitors  pay 

as  sergeants  of  the  law,  apprentices  of  the  law,  and  attorneys,  f  40  s., 

each  according  to  his  estate -j  20  s.,  or 

(  1/2  mark 
Item,  married  pardoners,  and  summoners,  each  according  to  his      f  3  s.  4  d.t 

estate \  2s.,  or 

1  12  d. 

Item,  all  the  hostlers  who  do  not  belong  to  the  estate  of  merchant,        f  40  d., 
each  according  to  his  estate  .        .        .        .        .        .        .       -j  2  s.,  or 

[l2d. 

Item,  each  married  man,  for  himself  and  his  wife,  who  do  not 
belong  to  the  above  named  estates,  above  the  age  of  sixteen, 
except  veritable  beggars  .  .  .  .  .  .  4  d. 

And  each  single  man  and  woman  of  such  condition  and  above  the 

said  age .  4  d. 

Item,  each  foreign  merchant,  of  whatsoever  estate  he  may  be,  pays 
according  to  his  condition  as  the  other  residents.  And  these 
payments  above  named  shall  be  levied  from  no  person  except 
in  the  place  where  he  is  living  and  nowhere  else.  And  be  it 
remembered,  that  the  sums  above  named  which  are  not  defi- 
nitely determined  shall  be  fixed  at  the  discretion  of  the  asses- 
sors and  controllers  appointed  for  this  purpose.  And  that 
the  collectors  of  this  subsidy  above  named  fix  the  days  of 
their  payment  at  the  feast  of  St.  John  the  Baptist  next  to 
come  and  at  the  feast  of  St.  Peter  ad  vincula  next  ensuing 
after  that. 


88.    The  Poll-tax  of  1380 

(1380.     French  original,  3  J?.  P.  90.  no.  15.     Translation   by  Editors. 
2  Stubbs,  470.) 

15.  FIRST,  the  lords  and  commons  have  agreed  that  there 
shall  be  given  for  the  needs  aforesaid,  by  each  layman  of  the 
realm  within  the  franchise  or  without,  as  well  by  the  males  as 


The  Poll-tax  of  1380  143 

by  the  females,  of  whatsoever  estate  or  condition  they  may  be, 
who  have  passed  the  age  of  fifteen  years,  three  groats,  except  the 
very  beggars,  who  shall  be  charged  nothing.  Saving  always  that 
the  levy  be  made  in  such  order  and  form  that  each  layman  shall 
be  charged  fairly  according  to  his  condition  and  in  the  following 
manner :  that  is  to  say,  that  for  the  whole  sum  assessed  in  each 
town  the  wealthy  according  to  their  condition  shall  aid  the  poorer; 
provided  that  the  most  wealthy  shall  not  pay  above  the  sum  of 
sixty  groats  for  himself  and  his  wife,  and  no  person  less  than  one 
groat  for  himself  and  his  wife:  and  that  no  person  be  charged 
to  pay  except  in  that  place  where  he  and  his  wife  and  children 
live  or  in  the  place  where  he  lives  in  service.  And  that  all  ar- 
tificers, laborers,  servants,  and  other  laymen  as  also  all  servants 
whatsoever  living  with  prelates  and  lords  temporal,  abbots,  priors 
of  collegiate  churches,  clerks  of  the  chancery,  and  in  the  common 
bench,  the  king's  bench,  the  exchequer,  the  receipt  and  with  all 
other  officers,  knights,  esquires,  merchants,  citizens,  burgesses, 
and  with  all  other  persons,  that  each  of  them  be  assessed  and 
taxed  according  to  the  condition  of  his  estate  and  in  the  said 
form.  And  that  commissions  be  given  to  a  sufficient  number  of 
persons,  as  well  in  the  counties  as  in  cities  and  boroughs,  to  be 
collectors  and  controllers  of  the  sum  aforesaid :  and  that  they 
shall  take  an  oath  to  discharge  their  duties  well  and  loyally.  And 
it  is  not  the  intention  of  the  said  commons  to  make  this  present 
grant  for  anything  except  only  the  sustenance  of  the  earl  of  Buck- 
ingham and  the  other  lords  and  men  in  his  company  in  parts  of 
Brittany  and  for  the  defense  of  the  realm  and  safe-guard  of  the 
sea.  And  that  this  present  grant  should  not  be  made  nor  taken 
in  the  form  nor  after  the  manner  of  any  levy  of  groats  before  this 
time,  but  should  be  levied  solely  on  persons  now  living;  provided 
the  two  divisions  of  the  said  payment  be  made  on  the  fifteenth  of 
St.  Hilary  next  to  come,  and  the  third  part  at  the  Feast  of  Pente- 
cost next  ensuing  thereafter :  provided  always  that  no  one  of  the 
knights,  citizens,  and  burgesses  who  have  come  to  this  present 
parliament  be  made  collector  or  controller  of  the  sums  aforesaid. 
And  that  it  pleases  our  lord  the  king  and  his  council  to  ordain  for 
the  said  levy,  as  well  of  the  servants  of  the  household  of  our  lord 
the  king  as  of  the  other  lords  in  the  realm,  that  they  should  be 
evenly  charged,  according  to  the  purport  of  this  grant. 

And  the  commons  pray,  that  during  the  war  justices  in  eyre 
and  of  trailbaston  shall  not  go  on  circuit  among  the  said  poor 
commons,  but  that  the  justice  of  the  peace  hold  their  courts 
according  to  the  tenure  of  their  commission. 


144          English  Constitutional  Documents 

And  the  commons  grant  to  our  lord  the  king  the  subsidy  on 
wools  to  last  till  the  Feast  of  St.  Martin  next  to  come. 


89.    Merchants  to  use  English  Ships  only. 
Charters  granted  the  Peasants  Annulled 

(May,  1382.     French  text  and  translation,  2  S.  R.  17.     2  Stubbs,  482.) 


3.  ITEM,  to  increase  the  navy  of  England,  which  is  now  greatly 
diminished :  it  is  assented  and  accorded,  that  none  of  the  king's 
liege  people  do  from  henceforth  ship  any  merchandise  in  going 
out  or  coming  within  the  realm  of  England,  anywhere,  but  only 
in  ships  of  the  king's  liegeance;  and  every  person  of  the  said 
liegeance,  which  *  *  *  do  ship  and  merchandise  in  any  other 
ships  *  *  *  shall  forfeit  to  the  king  all  his  merchandises  shipped 
in  other  vessels,  wheresoever  they  be  found  hereafter,  or  the  value 
of  the  same;  *  *  * 


6.  Item,  it  is  ordained,  that  all  manner  manumissions,  obliga- 
tions, releases,  and  other  bonds  made  by  compulsion,  duress, 
and  menace,  in  the  time  of  this  last  rumor  and  riot  against  the 
laws  of  the  land,  and  good  faith,  shall  be  wholly  quashed, 
annulled  and  holden  for  void;  and  they  that  have  done  to  be 
made,  or  do  yet  withhold  such  manumissions,  obligations, 
releases,  bonds,  and  other  deeds  so  made  by  duress,  shall  be  sent 
before  the  king  and  his  council,  thereof  to  answer  there  of  their 
deed,  and  further  shall  be  constrained  to  make  delivery  and  resti- 
tution of  the  said  deeds  to  them  that  made  the  same  against  their 
good  will,  with  the  copies  of  the  same,  if  perchance  they  have 
thereof  made  any  before,  another  time  to  use  or  renew  the  effect 
of  the  same  if  they  may.  And  likewise  it  is  accorded,  that  all 
entries  made  in  lands  or  tenements,  and  also  all  feoffments  made 
in  the  time  of  the  same  rumor  by  compulsion  and  menace,  or 
otherwise  with  force  of  people,  against  the  law,  shall  be  void, 
and  holden  for  none.  And  the  king  straitly  defendeth  to  all 
manner  of  people,  upon  pain  of  as  much  as  they  may  forfeit 
against  him  in  body  and  goods,  that  none  from  henceforth  make 
nor  begin  again,  in  any  way,  such  riot  and  rumor,  nor  other  like. 


An  Act  against  Heretical  Preaching         145 

And  if  any  the  same  do,  and  that  duly  proved,  it  shall  be  done  of 
him  as  of  a  traitor  to  the  king  and  to  his  said  realm. 

8.  Item,  touching  the  charters,  releases,  obligations,  and  other 
deeds  and  muniments,  burnt,  destroyed,  or  otherwise  eloined  in 
the  same  rumor,  it  is  assented,  that  they  which  thereof  feel  them 
grieved,  shall  put  their  petitions  distinctly  made  upon  their 
matters  specially  before  the  king  and  his  council,  betwixt  this 
and  the  Nativity  of  Saint  John  Baptist  next  coming  at  the  furthest, 
and  there  make  sufficient  proof  of  the  said  muniments  so  lost, 
and  of  the  form  and  tenor  of  the  same;  and  that  done,  such 
remedy  shall  thereof  be  provided  for  them  at  every  man's  com- 
plaint, as  best  shall  seem  in  the  case,  saving  the  law. 


90.  An  Act  against  Heretical  Preaching 

(May,  1382.     French  text  and  translation,  2  S.  R.  23.     2  Stubbs,  487.) 


5.  ITEM,  forasmuch  as  it  is  openly  known,  that  there  be 
divers  evil  persons  within  the  realm,  going  from  county 
to  county,  and  from  town  to  town,  in  certain  habits  under 
dissimulation  of  great  holiness,  and  without  the  licence  of  our 
holy  father  the  pope,  or  of  the  ordinaries  of  the  places  or  other 
sufficient  authority,  do  preach  daily,  not  only  in  churches  and 
churchyards,  but  also  in  markets,  fairs,  and  other  open  places, 
where  a  great  congregation  of  people  is,  divers  sermons  contain- 
ing heresies  and  notorious  errors,  to  the  great  emblemishing  of 
the  Christian  faith,  and  destruction  of  the  laws,  and  of  the  estate 
of  holy  Church,  to  the  great  peril  of  the  souls  of  the  people,  and 
of  all  the  realm  of  England,  as  more  plainly  is  found  and  suffi- 
ciently proved  before  the  reverend  father  in  God  the  archbishop 
of  Canterbury,  and  the  bishops  and  other  prelates,  and  masters 
of  divinity,  and  doctors  of  canon  and  of  civil  law,  and  a  great 
part  of  the  clergy  of  the  said  realm  specially  assembled  for  this 
cause ;  which  persons  do  also  preach  divers  matters  of  slander, 
to  engender  discord  and  dissension  betwixt  divers  estates  of  the 
said  realm,  as  well  spiritual  as  temporal,  in  exciting  of  the  people, 
to  the  great  peril  of  all  the  realm:  which  preachers  cited  or 
summoned  before  the  ordinaries  of  the  places,  there  to  answer  of 


146  English  Constitutional  Documents 

that  whereof  they  be  impeached,  will  not  obey  to  their  summons 
and  commandments,  nor  care  not  for  their  monitions,  nor  cen- 
sures of  the  holy  Church,  but  expressly  despise  them,  and  more- 
over by  their  subtil  words  do  draw  and  beguile  the  people  to  hear 
their  sermons,  and  to  maintain  them  in  their  errors  by  strong  hand 
and  by  great  routs:  it  is  ordained  in  this  present  parliament, 
that  the  king's  commissions  be  directed  to  the  sheriffs  and  other 
ministers  of  our  sovereign  lord  the  king,  or  other  sufficient  per- 
sons after  and  according  to  the  certifications  of  the  prelates 
thereof  to  be  made  in  the  chancery  from  time  to  time,  to  arrest 
all  such  preachers,  and  also  their  fautors,  maintainers,  and 
abettors,  and  to  hold  them  in  arrest  and  strong  prison,  till  they 
will  justify  them  according  to  the  law  and  reason  of  holy  Church : 
And  the  icing  will  and  commandeth,  that  the  chancellor  make 
such  commission  at  all  times,  that  he  by  the  prelates  or  any  of 
them  shall  be  certified  and  thereof  required,  as  is  aforesaid. 


91.  An  Act  to  reform  the  Administration 
of  Justice 

(June,  1385.     Latin  text  and  translation,  2  S.  R.  36.     2  Stubbs,  640.) 

nPO  the  honor  of  God,  and  at  the  request  of  the  commonalty  of 
•*•  the  realm  of  England  made  to  our  lord  the  king  in  his  par- 
liament holden  at  Westminster  in  the  morrow  of  Saint  Martin, 
the  eighth  year  of  his  reign;  the  same  our  lord  the  king  of  the 
assent  of  the  prelates,  great  men,  and  commons  aforesaid,  hath 
caused  to  be  made  in  the  same  parliament,  a  certain  statute  for 
the  common  profit  of  the  said  realm,  and  especially  for  the  good 
and  just  governance,  and  due  execution  of  the  common  law,  in 
the  form  following. 

1.  First,  it  is  accorded  and  statuted,  that  holy  Church  have 
all  her  liberties;  and  that  the  Great  Charter,  and  the  Charter  of 
the  Forest,  the  Statutes  of  purveyors  and  laborers,  and  all  other 
statutes  and  ordinances  heretofore  made  and  not  repealed,  shall 
be  holden  and  observed,  and  put  in  due  execution  according  to 
the  form  and  effect  of  the  same. 

2.  Item,  it  is  accorded  and  statuted,  that  no  man  of  law  shall 
be  from  henceforth  justice  of  assizes,  or  of  the  common  deliver- 
ance of  jails  in  his  own  country;  and  that  the  chief  justice  of 
the  common  bench  be  assigned  amongst  others  to  take  such 


An  Act  to  reform  the  Administration  of  Justice     147 

assizes,  and  deliver  jails  ;  but  as  to  the  chief  justice  of  the  king's 
bench,  it  shall  be  as  for  the  most  part  of  an  hundred  years  last 
past  was  wont  to  be  done. 

3.  Item,  whereas  late  in  the  time  of  the  noble  king  Edward, 
grandfather  of  our  sovereign  lord  the  king  that  now  is,  it  was 
ordained,  that  justices,  as  long  as  they  should  be  in  the  office  of 
justices,  should  not  take  fee  nor  robe  of  any  except  of  the  king, 
and  that  they  should  not  take  gift  nor  reward  by  them  nor  yet  by 
other,  privily  nor  openly,  of  any  man  which  should  have  any- 
thing to  do  afore  them  in  any  wise,  except  meat  and  drink,  of 
small  value;  and  that  they  should  not  give  counsel  to  any  great 
or  small  in  things  or  affairs,  where  the  king  is  party,  or  which  in 
any  wise  touch  the  king,  upon  a  certain  pain  contained  in  the 
said  ordinance :  and  in  the  same  manner  it  is  ordained  of  the 
barons  of  the  exchequer,  as  in  the  said  ordinance  is  more  plainly 
contained;  and  the  said  ordinance  being  rehearsed  in  the  parlia- 
ment, it  is  accorded  and  statuted,  that  no  justice  of  the  king's 
bench  nor  of  the  common  bench,  nor  none  of  the  barons  of  the 
exchequer,  as  long  as  they  shall  be  in  the  office  of  justice  or 
barons,  shall  take  from  henceforth  by  himself  or  other,  privily  or 
openly,  robe,  fee,  pension,  gift,  nor  reward,  of  any  but  of  the 
king,  nor  entertainment  of  any,  except  entertainment  of  meat 
and  drink,  which  shall  be  of  no  great  value.  And  that  from 
henceforth  they  shall  give  no  counsel  to  any,  great  or  small,  in 
things  or  affairs,  wherein  the  king  is  party,  or  which  in  any  wise 
touch  the  king,  and  that  they  be  not  of  any  man's  counsel  in  any 
cause,  plea,  or  quarrel,  hanging  the  plea  before  them  or  in  other 
of  the  king's  great  courts  or  places,  upon  pain  of  loss  of  their 
office,  and  making  to  the  king  fine  and  ransom. 


5.  *  *  *  ;  it  is  accorded  and  statuted,  that  all  pleas  and  suits 
touching  the  common  law,  and  which  ought  to  be  examined  and 
discussed  at  the  common  law,  shall  not  be  hereafter  drawn  or 
holden  by  any  means  before  the  said  constable  and  marshal,  but 
that  the  court  of  the  same  constable  and  marshal  shall  have  that 
which  belongeth  to  the  same  court,  *  *  * 


148          English  Constitutional  Documents 
92.  An  Act  regarding  Fugitive  Villeins 

(December,  1385.     French  text  and  translation,  2  S.  R.  38.) 


2.  ITEM,  whereas  divers  villeins  and  neifs,  as  well  of  great 
lords  as  of  other  people,  as  well  spiritual  as  temporal,  do 
flee  into  cities,  towns,  and  places  enfranchised,  as  the  city  of 
London,  and  other  like,  and  feign  divers  suits  against  their  lords, 
to  the  intent  to  make  them  free  by  the  answer  of  their  lords :  it 
is  accorded  and  assented,  that  the  lords  nor  other,  shall  not  be 
forbarred  of  their  villeins,  because  of  their  answer  in  the  law. 


93.  Articles  of  Impeachment  against  Suffolk 

(1386.     French  original.     3  K.  P.  216.    Translation  by  Editors. 
2  Stubbs,  497.) 

IN  this  parliament,  all  the  commons  with  one  accord,  assembled 
unanimously  and  came  before  the  king,  prelates  and  lords, 
in  the  chambers  of  parliament,  complaining  grievously  of  Michael 
de  la  Pole,  earl  of  Suffolk,  late  chancellor  of  England,  then  pres- 
ent and  accused  him  by  word  of  mouth  in  the  following  manner, 
to  wit : 

6.  First,  that  the  said  earl,  being  chancellor  and  sworn  to  pro- 
mote the  king's  welfare,  purchased  from  our  lord  the  king  lands, 
tenements,  and  rents,  of  great  value  as  appears  by  record  in  the 
rolls  of  the  chancery,  contrary  to  his  oath,  whereas  he  had  not 
deserved  so  much  considering  the  great  need  of  the  king  and  of 
the  realm:  and  besides  this,  because  the  said  earl  was  chancellor 
at  the  time  of  the  said  purchase,  the  said  lands  and  tenements 
were  appraised  at  a  less  value  than  they  were  worth  per  year  by 
a  great  sum,  in  deceit  of  the  king. 

Item,  whereas  nine  lords  were  appointed  at  the  last  parliament 
to  inspect  and  examine  the  estate  of  the  king  and  the  realm,  and 
to  give  their  advice  as  to  how  it  could  be  best  improved  and 
brought  under  abetter  government  and  order;  and  on  this  inspec- 
tion made  and  the  report  made  to  the  king  both  by  word  of  mouth 
and  in  writing,  the  said  late  chancellor  had  said  in  full  parlia- 


Articles  of  Impeachment  against  Suffolk      149 

ment,  that  the  said  advice  and  ordinance  ought  to  be  put  into 
due  execution;  and  this  was  not  done,  and  it  was  the  fault  of 
himself  as  he  was  then  chief  officer. 

Item,  whereas  the  tax  was  granted  by  the  commons  at  the  last 
parliament  to  be  expended  in  a  certain  manner  demanded  by  the 
commons  and  assented  to  by  the  king  and  lords,  and  not  at  all 
otherwise,  the  moneys  arising  therefrom  were  expended  in  another 
manner,  so  that  the  sea  was  not  guarded  in  the  manner  which  had 
been  ordained;  because  of  which  many  mischances  had  befallen 
the  realm  and  very  probably  would  in  the  future,  and  this  because 
of  the  neglect  of  the  said  late  chancellor. 

Item,  whereas  a  certain  Tideman  of  Limburgh,  who  had  for 
himself  and  heirs  as  the  gift  of  the  grandfather  of  the  king  fifty 
pounds  yearly  on  the  customs  duties  of  Kingston  on  Hull  which 
Tideman  forfeited  to  the  king,  and  also  the  payment  of  the  said 
annual  fifty  pounds  had  been  discontinued  for  twenty  or  thirty 
years,  the  said  late  chancellor  knowing  this,  purchased  from  him 
and  from  the  heirs  of  the  said  Tideman  the  said  annual  fifty 
pounds  and  brought  it  about  that  the  king  confirmed  the  said 
purchase,  whereas  the  king  should  have  had  the  profit. 

Item,  whereas  the  chief  master  of  St.  Antony  is  a  schismatic, 
and  for  this  reason  the  king  should  have  the  profit  which  belongs 
to  him  in  the  kingdom  of  England,  the  said  late  chancellor,  who 
should  have  promoted  and  secured  the  profit  of  the  king,  leased 
the  said  profit  of  the  king  for  twenty  marks  per  year  and  took 
thereof  for  his  own  especial  use  very  nearly  one  thousand  marks, 
and  at  the  time  when  the  master  of  St.  Antony  who  is  now  in 
England  should  have  had  possession  and  delivery  of  the  said 
profit,  he  was  not  able  to  have  it  until  he  and  two  persons  with 
him  had  bound  themselves  by  an  acknowledgement  in  the  chan- 
cery and  by  bonds  in  the  sum  of  ^3,000  to  pay  annually  to  the 
said  late  chancellor  and  to  John  his  son  one  hundred  pounds  per 
year,  for  the  term  of  both  their  lives. 

Item,  that  in  the  time  of  the  said  late  chancellor  were  granted 
and  made  divers  charters  and  patents  of  murders,  treasons,  felo- 
nies, erasures  of  the  rolls,  sale  of  the  laws,  and  in  particular, 
since  the  beginning  of  this  parliament,  was  made  and  sealed  a 
charter  of  certain  franchises  granted  to  the  castle  of  Dover,  in 
disherison  of  the  crown  and  the  subversion  of  all  the  offices  and 
courts  of  the  king  and  of  his  laws. 

Item,  whereas  ordinance  was  made  at  the  last  parliament  for 
the  town  of  Ghent  providing  that  ten  thousand  marks  should  be 
paid  as  ransom  and  for  this  ransom  three  thousand  marks  should 


150  English  Constitutional  Documents 

be  expended;  because  of  the  default  and  neglect  of  the  said  late 
chancellor  the  said  town  was  lost;  notwithstanding  that  the  ten 
thousand  marks  had  been  paid  and  the  said  three  thousand  marks 
expended  for  the  ransom,  as  has  been  said. 

On  all  these  articles  the  said  commons  demand  the  judgment 
of  parliament. 


94.  Threat  to  depose  Richard  II 

(1386.    Latin  original.    Knighton's  chronicle,  Rolls  Series,  II.  219.    Trans- 
lation by  Editors.     2  Stubbs,  497.) 

YET  one  other  thing  remains  of  our  message  for  us  to 
announce  to  you  on  the  part  of  your  people.  For  they 
have  it  from  an  old  statute,  and  in  fact  not  very  long  ago  put  into 
force,  which  is  to  be  regretted,  that  if  the  king  from  any  malig- 
nant design  or  foolish  contumacy  or  contempt  or  wanton  wilful- 
ness  or  in  any  irregular  way  should  alienate  himself  from  his 
people,  and  should  not  be  willing  to  be  governed  and  regulated 
by  the  laws,  statutes  and  laudable  ordinances  of  the  realm  with 
the  wholesome  advice  of  the  lords  and  peers  of  the  realm,  but 
should  headily  and  wantonly  by  his  own  mad  designs  work  out 
his  own  private  purpose,  then  it  should  be  lawful  for  them  with 
the  common  assent  and  consent  of  the  people  of  the  realm  to 
depose  the  king  himself  from  the  royal  throne  and  to  elevate  to 
the  royal  throne  in  his  place  some  near  kinsman  of  the  royal  line. 


95.  The  Second  Statute  of  Provisors 

(May,  1390.     French  text  and  translation,  2  S.  Jf.  68.     2  Stubbs,  430, 
508,  612,  3  Stubbs,  309,  324,  338.) 

2.  ITEM,  whereas  the  noble  king  Edward,  grandfather  to  our 
lord  the  king  that  now  is,  at  his  parliament  holden  at  West- 
minster, at  the  utas  of  the  purification  of  our  Lady,  the  five 
and  twentieth  year  of  his  reign,  caused  to  be  rehearsed  the  statute 
made  at  Carlisle  in  the  time  of  his  grandfather  king  Edward,  son 
of  king  Henry,  touching  the  estate  of  the  holy  Church  of  Eng- 
land; the  said  grandfather  of  the  king  that  now  is,  by  the  assent 
of  the  great  men  of  his  realm,  being  in  the  same  parliament, 


The  Second  Statute  of  Provisors  151 

holden  the  said  five  and  twentieth  year,  to  the  honor  of  God  and 
of  holy  Church,  and  of  all  his  realm,  did  ordain  and  establish, 
that  the  free  elections  of  archbishoprics,  bishoprics,  and  all  other 
dignities  and  benefices  elective  in  England,  should  hold  from 
thenceforth  in  the  manner  as  they  were  granted  by  his  progenitors, 
and  by  the  ancestors  of  other  lords  founders;  and  that  all  prel- 
ates and  other  people  of  holy  Church,  which  had  advowsons  of 
any  benefices  of  the  gift  of  the  king,  or  of  his  progenitors,  or  of 
other  lords  and  donors,  should  freely  have  their  collations  and 
presentments;  and  thereupon  a  certain  punishment  was  ordained 
in  the  same  statute  for  them  which  accept  any  benefice  or  dignity 
contrary  to  the  said  statute  made  at  Westminster  the  said  twenty- 
fifth  year,  as  afore  is  said;  which  statute  our  lord  the  king  hath 
caused  to  be  recited  in  this  present  parliament  at  the  request  of 
his  commons  in  the  same  parliament,  the  tenor  whereof  is  such 
as  hereafter  followeth :  *  *  * 


And  further  more  our  lord  the  king  that  now  is,  of  the  assent 
of  the  great  men  of  his  realm  being  in  this  present  parliament, 
hath  ordained  and  established,  that  for  all  archbishoprics,  bish- 
oprics, and  other  dignities  and  benefices  elective,  and  all  other 
benefices  of  holy  Church,  which  began  to  be  void  in  deed  the 
twenty-ninth  day  of  January,  the- thirteenth  year  of  the  reign  of 
our  lord  king  Richard  that  now  is,  or  after,  or  which  shall  be 
void  in  time  to  come  within  the  realm  of  England,  the  said 
statute  made  the  said  twenty-fifth  year  shall  be  firmly  holden  for- 
ever, and  put  in  due  execution  from  time  to  time  in  all  manner 
of  points;  and  if  any  do  accept  of  a  benefice  of  holy  Church 
contrary  to  this  statute,  and  that  duly  proved,  and  be  beyond  the 
sea,  he  shall  abide  exiled  and  banished  out  of  the  realm  forever 
and  his  lands  and  tenements,  goods  and  chattels  shall  be  forfeit 
to  the  king;  and  if  he  be  within  the  realm,  he  shall  be  also  exiled 
and  banished  as  afore  is  said,  and  shall  incur  the  same  forfeiture, 
and  take  his  way,  so  that  he  be  out  of  the  realm  in  six  weeks  next 
after  such  acceptation;  and  if  any  receive  any  such  person  ban- 
ished coming  from  beyond  the  sea,  or  being  within  the  realm 
after  the  said  six  weeks,  knowing  thereof,  he  shall  be  also  exiled 
and  banished,  and  incur  such  forfeiture  as  afore  is  said;  and 
that  their  procurators,  notaries,  executors,  and  summoners  have 
the  pain  and  forfeiture  aforesaid.  Provided  nevertheless,  that 
all  they  to  whom  our  holy  father  the  pope,  or  his  predecessors, 
have  provided  any  archbishopric,  bishopric,  or  other  dignity,  or 


152  English  Constitutional  Documents 

benefices  elective,  or  other  benefices  of  holy  Church,  of  the 
patronage  of  people  of  holy  Church,  in  respect  of  any  voidance 
before  the  said  twenty-ninth  day  of  January,  and  thereof  were  in 
actual  possession  before  the  same  twenty-ninth  day,  shall  have 
and  enjoy  the  said  archbishoprics,  bishoprics,  dignities,  and 
other  benefices  peaceably  for  their  lives,  notwithstanding  the 
statutes  and  ordinance  aforesaid.  And  if  the  king  send  by  letter 
or  in  other  manner  to  the  court  of  Rome,  at  the  entreaty  of  any 
person,  or  if  any  other  send  or  sue  to  the  same  court,  whereby 
anything  is  done  contrary  to  this  statute,  touching  any  archbish- 
opric, bishopric,  dignity,  or  other  benefice  of  holy  Church  within 
the  said  realm,  if  he  that  maketh  such  motion  or  suit  be  a  prel- 
ate of  holy  Church,  he  shall  pay  to  the  king  the  value  of  his  tem- 
poralties  of  one  year;  and  if  he  be  a  temporal  lord,  he  shall  pay 
to  the  king  the  value  of  his  lands  and  possessions  not  moveable 
of  one  year;  and  if  he  be  another  person  of  a  more  mean  estate, 
he  shall  pay  to  the  king  the  value  of  the  benefice  for  which  suit 
is  made,  and  shall  be  imprisoned  one  year.  And  it  is  the  intent 
of  this  statute,  that  of  all  dignities  and  benefices  of  holy  Church, 
which  were  void  indeed  the  said  twenty-ninth  day  of  January, 
which  be  given,  or  to  which  it  is  provided  by  the  pope  before 
the  same  twenty-ninth  day,  that  they  to  whom  such  gifts  or  pro- 
visions be  made,  may  freely  of  such  gifts  and  provisions  sue 
execution  without  offence  of  this  statute :  provided  always,  that 
of  no  dignity  or  benefice  which  was  full  the  said  twenty-ninth 
day  of  January,  no  man  because  of  any  collation,  gift,  reserva- 
tion, and  provision,  or  other  grace  papal,  not  executed  before 
the  said  twenty-ninth  day,  shall  not  sue  thereof  execution,  upon 
the  pains  and  forfeitures  contained  in  this  present  statute. 

3.  Item,  it  is  ordained  and  established,  that  if  any  man  bring 
or  send  within  the  realm,  or  the  king's  power,  any  summons, 
sentences,  or  excommunications  against  any  person,  of  what 
condition  that  he  be,  for  the  cause  of  the  moving,  making  assent, 
or  execution  of  the  said  statute  of  provisors,  he  shall  be  taken, 
arrested,  and  put  in  prison,  and  forfeit  all  his  lands  and  tene- 
ments, goods  and  chattels  forever,  and  incur  the  pain  of  life 
and  of  member.  And  if  any  prelate  make  execution  of  such 
summons,  sentences,  or  excommunications,  that  his  temporalties 
be  taken  and  abide  in  the  king's  hands,  till  due  redress  and  cor- 
rection be  thereof  made.  And  if  any  person  of  less  estate  than  a 
prelate,  of  what  condition  that  he  be,  make  such  execution,  he  shall 
be  taken,  arrested,  and  put  in  prison,  and  have  imprisonment,  and 
make  fine  and  ransom  by  the  discretion  of  the  king's  council 


Statute  of  Maintenance  and  Liveries         153 


96.  Statute  of  Maintenance  and  Liveries 

(May,  1390,    French  text  and  translation,  2  S.  £.  74.    2  Stubbs,  509, 
640,  3  Stubbs,  549.) 

THE  king  to  the  sheriff  of  Kent,  Greeting. 
Whereas  by  the  laws  and  customs  of  our  realm,  which  we 
are  bound,  by  the  oath  made  at  our  coronation,  to  preserve,  all 
our  lieges  within  the  same  realm,  as  well  poor  as  rich,  ought 
freely  to  sue,  defend,  receive  and  have  justice  and  right,  and  the 
accomplishment  and  execution  thereof,  in  any  our  courts  what- 
soever and  elsewhere,  without  being  disturbed  or  oppressed  by 
maintenance,  menace,  or  in  any  other  manner;  and  now  so  it  is, 
that  in  many  of  our  parliaments  heretofore  holden,  and  namely, 
in  the  parliaments  last  holden  at  Cambridge  and  Westminster, 
grievous  complaint  and  great  clamor  hath  been  made  unto  us,  as 
well  by  the  lords  spiritual  and  temporal  as  by  the  commons  of 
our  said  realm,  of  great  and  outrageous  oppressions  and  main- 
tenances made  to  the  damage  of  us  and  of  our  people,  in  divers 
parts  of  the  same  realm,  by  divers  maintainors,  instigators,  bar- 
rators, procurers,  and  embraceors  of  quarrels  and  inquests  in  the 
country,  whereof  many  are  the  more  encouraged  and  bold  in  their 
maintenance  and  evil  deeds  aforesaid,  because  that  they  be  of 
the  retinue  of  lords  and  others  of  our  said  realm,  with  fees, 
robes,  and  other  liveries,  called  liveries  of  company;  We  have 
ordained  and  straitly  forbidden,  by  the  advice  of  our  great  coun- 
cil, that  no  prelate,  nor  other  man  of  holy  Church,  nor  bachelor, 
nor  esquire,  nor  other  of  less  estate,  give  any  manner  of  such 
livery  called  livery  of  company;  and  that  no  duke,  earl,  baron, 
or  banneret  give  such  livery  of  company  to  knight  or  esquire,  if 
he  be  not  retained  with  him  for  the  term  of  his  life  for  peace  and 
for  war,  by  indenture,  without  fraud  or  evil  device,  or  unless  he 
be  a  domestic  and  familiar  abiding  in  his  household;  nor  to  any 
valet  called  yeoman  archer,  nor  to  other  of  less  estate  than  esquire, 
if  he  be  not,  in  like  manner,  a  familiar  abiding  in  his  household. 
And  that  all  lords  spiritual  and  temporal,  and  all  others  of  what 
condition  or  estate  they  be,  shall  utterly  oust  all  such  maintainors, 
instigators,  barrators,  procurers,  and  embraceors  of  quarrels  and 
inquests  from  their  fees,  robes,  and  all  manner  of  liveries,  and 
from  their  sen-ice,  company,  and  retainer,  without  receiving 
any  such  on  their  retainer,  in  any  manner,  in  time  to  come  ;  and 
that  no  lord  spiritual  nor  temporal,  nor  any  other,  that  hath  01 


154          English  Constitutional  Documents 

shall  have  people  of  his  retinue,  shall  suffer  any  that  belong  to 
him,  to  be  a  maintainor,  instigator,  barrator,  procurer,  or  em- 
braceor  of  quarrels  and  inquests  in  the  country,  in  any  manner, 
but  shall  put  them  away  from  his  service  and  retinue,  as  afore  is 
said,  as  soon  as  it  can  be  discovered;  and  that  if  any  lord  do  oust 
any  such  maintainor,  instigator,  barrator,  procuror,  or  embraceor 
from  his  company  for  this  cause,  that  then  no  other  lord  do  retain 
or  receive  him  of  his  retinue  nor  of  his  company  in  any  manner; 
and  that  none  of  our  lieges,  great  nor  small,  of  what  condition  or 
estate  he  be,  whether  he  be  of  the  retinue  of  any  lord,  or  other 
person  whatever  who  belongeth  not  to  any  retinue,  shall  not  under- 
take any  quarrel  other  than  his  own,  nor  shall  maintain  it,  by 
himself  nor  by  other,  privily  nor  openly;  and  that  all  those  who 
use  and  wear  such  livery  called  livery  of  company,  contrary  to 
this  our  ordinance,  shall  leave  them  off  altogether  within  ten 
days  after  the  proclamation  of  this  same  ordinance,  without  using 
or  wearing  them  any  more  afterwards;  and  that  Ais  our  ordinance 
be  held  and  firmly  kept,  and  duly  executed,  in  all  points,  as  well 
by  those  who  have  or  shall  have  people  of  their  retinue,  as  by  all 
other  persons,  in  that  which  to  them  belongeth  touching  the  same 
ordinance,  upon  pain  of  imprisonment,  fine,  and  ransom,  or  of 
being  punished  in  other  manner,  according  as  shall  be  advised  by 
us  and  our  council:  wherefore  we  command  and  charge  you  that 
incontinently,  upon  sight  hereof,  you  cause  to  be  published  and 
proclaimed  this  our  ordinance  in  cities,  boroughs,  market  towns, 
and  other  public  places  within  your  bailiwick,  as  well  within  fran- 
chise as  without,  and  do  cause  the  same  to  be  holden  and  duly 
sxecuted  in  all  points. 

Given  under  our  great  seal  at  Westminster,  the  twelfth  day  of 
May. 

By  the  king  himself  and  the  council. 

Like  writs  are  directed  to  the  several  sheriffs  throughout 
England. 


97.   Conveyances  to  the  Uses  of  Religious 
Houses  and  other  Corporations  forbidden,  etc. 

'February,  1392.    French  text  and  translation,  2  S.  R,  78.    2  Stubbs,  509,  638.) 

3.    ITEM,  *  *  *     It   is   declared,    ordained    and    established 
that  of  all  manner  of  contracts,  pleas,  and  quarrels,  and  all  other 


Conveyances  to  Religious  Houses  Forbidden     155 

things  rising  within  the  bodies  of  counties,  as  well  by  land,  as 
by  water,  *  *  *  and  also  wreck  of  the  sea,  shall  be  tried  deter- 
mined, discussed,  and  remedied  by  the  laws  of  the  land,  and 
not  before  nor  by  the  admiral,  nor  his  lieutenant  in  any  wise. 
Nevertheless,  of  the  death  of  a  man,  and  of  a  mayhem  done  in 
great  ships,  being  and  hovering  in  the  main  stream  of  great 
rivers,  only  beneath  the  bridges  of  the  same  rivers  most  next  to 
the  sea,  and  in  none  other  places  of  the  same  rivers,  the  admiral 
shall  have  cognizance,  and  also  to  arrest  ships  in  the  great  fleets 
for  the  great  voyages  of  the  king  and  of  the  realm;  saving  always 
to  the  king  all  manner  of  forfeitures  and  profits  thereof  coming; 
and  he  shall  have  also  jurisdiction  upon  the  said  fleets,  during  the 
said  voyages  only :  saving  always  to  the  lords,  cities,  and  boroughs 
their  liberties  and  franchises. 

5.  Item,  whereas  it  is  contained  in  the  statute  de  religiosis, 
*  *  *  and  now  of  late  by  subtile  imagination,  and  by  art,  and 
device,  some  religious  persons,  parsons,  vicars,  and  other  spir- 
itual persons,  have  entered  in  divers  lands  and  tenements,  which 
be  adjoining  to  the  churches,  and  of  the  same,  by  sufferance  and 
assent  of  the  tenants,  have  made  churchyards,  and  by  bulls  of  the 
bishop  of  Rome  have  caused  the  same  to  be  dedicated  and  hal- 
lowed, and  in  them  do  make  continually  parochial  burying  with- 
out licence  of  the  king  and  of  the  chief  lords;  therefore  it  is 
declared  in  this  parliament,  that  this  is  manifestly  within  the 
compass  of  the  said  statute.  And  moreover  it  is  agreed  and 
assented,  that  all  they  that  be  possessed  by  feoffment,  or  by  any 
other  manner,  to  the  use  of  religious  people,  or  other  spiritual 
persons,  of  lands  and  tenements,  fees,  advowsons,  or  any  manner 
other  possessions  whatsoever,  to  amortise  them,  and  whereof  the 
said  religious  and  spiritual  persons  take  the  profits,  that  betwixt 
this  and  the  feast  of  Saint  Michael  next  coming,  they  shall  cause 
them  to  be  amortised  by  the  licence  of  the  king  and  of  the  lords, 
or  else  that  they  shall  sell  and  aliene  them  to  some  other  use 
between  this  and  the  said  feast,  upon  pain  to  be  forfeited  to  the 
king,  and  to  the  lords,  according  to  the  form  of  the  said  statute 
of  religious,  as  lands  purchased  by  religious  people:  and  that 
from  henceforth  no  such  purchase  be  made,  so  that  such  religious 
or  other  spiritual  person  take  thereof  the  profits,  as  afore  is  said, 
upon  pain  aforesaid ;  and  that  this  same  statute  extend  and  be 
observed  of  all  lands,  tenements,  fees,  advowsons,  and  other  pos- 
sessions, purchased  or  to  be  purchased  to  the  use  of  guilds  or 
fraternities.  And  moreover  it  is  assented,  because  mayors, 
bailiffs,  and  commons  of  cities,  boroughs,  and  other  towns  which 


156  English  Constitutional  Documents 

have  a  perpetual  commonalty,  and  others  which  have  offices  per- 
petual be  as  perpetual  as  people  of  religion,  that  from  henceforth 
they  shall  not  purchase  to  them,  and  to  their  commons  or  office, 
upon  the  pain  contained  in  the  said  statute  de  religiosis;  *  *  * 

12.  Item,  *  *  *  it  is  agreed  and  assented,  that  from  henceforth 
none  of  the  king's  subjects  be  compelled,  neither  by  any  mean 
constrained,  to  come  nor  to  appear  before  the  council  of  any  lord 
or  lady,  to  answer  for  his  freehold,  nor  any  for  anything  touching 
his  freehold,  nor  for  any  other  thing,  real  or  personal,  that  belong- 
eth  to  the  law  of  the  land  in  any  manner :  and  if  any  find  himself 
grieved  in  time  to  come,  contrary  to  this  ordinance  and  agree- 
ment, he  may  complain  to  the  chancellor  for  the  time  being,  and 
he  shall  give  him  remedy. 


98.  The  Second  Statute  of  Praemunire 

(May,  1393.     16  Richard  II.  c.  5.      French  text  and  translation,  2  S.  K. 
84.     2  Stubbs,  435,  509,  3  Stubbs,  341,  363.) 

5.  ITEM,  whereas  the  commons  of  the  realm  in  this  present 
parliament  have  showed  to  our  redoubted  lord  the  king,  griev- 
ously complaining,  that  whereas  the  said  our  lord  the  king, 
and  all  his  liege  people,  ought  of  right,  and  of  old  time  were 
wont  to  sue  in  the  king's  court,  to  recover  their  presentments  to 
churches,  prebends,  and  other  benefices  of  holy  Church,  to  the 
which  they  had  right  to  present,  the  cognizance  of  the  plea  of 
which  suit  belongeth  only  to  the  king's  court  of  the  old  right  of 
his  crown,  used  and  approved  in  the  time  of  all  his  progenitors 
kings  of  England;  and  when  judgment  shall  be  given  in  the  same 
court  upon  such  a  plea  and  suit,  the  archbishops,  bishops,  and 
other  spiritual  persons  which  have  institution  of  such  benefices 
within  their  jurisdiction,  be  bound,  and  have  made  execution  of 
such  judgments  by  the  king's  commandments  of  all  the  time 
aforesaid  without  interruption,  for  another,  lay-person,  may  not 
make  such  execution,  and  also  be  bound  of  right  to  make  execu- 
tion of  many  other  of  the  king's  commandments,  of  which  right 
the  crown  of  England  hath  been  peaceably  seised,  as  well  in  the 
time  of  our  said  lord  the  king  that  now  is,  as  in  the  time  of  all 
his  progenitors  till  this  day :  but  now  of  late  divers  processes  be 
made  by  the  holy  father  the  pope  and  censures  of  excommunica- 
tion upon  certain  bishops  of  England,  because  they  have  made 


The  Second  Statute  of  Praemunire          157 

execution  of  such  commandments,  to  the  open  disherison  of  the 
said  crown,  and  destruction  of  the  regalty  of  our  said  lord  the 
king,  his  law,  and  all  his  realm,  if  remedy  be  not  provided :  and 
also  it  is  said,  and  a  common  clamor  is  made,  that  the  said  father 
the  pope  hath  ordained  and  purposed  to  translate  some  prelates 
of  the  same  realm,  some  out  of  the  realm,  and  some  from  one 
bishopric  into  another  within  the  same  realm,  without  the  king's 
assent  and  knowledge,  and  without  the  assent  of  the  prelates, 
which  so  shall  be  translated,  which  prelates  be  much  profitable 
and  necessary  to  our  said  lord  the  king,  and  to  all  his  realm;  by 
which  translations,  if  they  should  be  suffered,  the  statutes  of  the 
realm  should  be  defeated  and  made  void;  and  his  said  liege  sages 
of  his  council,  without  his  assent,  and  against  his  will,  carried 
away  and  gotten  out  of  his  realm,  and  the  substance  and  treasure 
of  the  realm  shall  be  carried  away,  and  so  the  realm  destitute  as 
well  of  council  as  of  substance,  to  the  final  destruction  of  the 
same  realm;  and  so  the  crown  of  England,  which  hath  been  so 
free  at  all  times,  that  it  hath  been  in  subjection  to  no  realm,  but 
immediately  subject  to  God  in  all  things  touching  the  regalty  of 
the  same  crown,  and  to  none  other,  should  be  submitted  to  the 
pope,  and  the  laws  and  statutes  of  the  realm  by  him  defeated  and 
avoided  at  his  will,  in  perpetual  destruction  of  the  sovereignty  of 
the  king  our  lord,  his  crown,  his  regalty,  and  of  all  his  realm, 
which  God  defend :  and  moreover,  the  commons  aforesaid  say, 
that  the  said  things  so  attempted  be  clearly  against  the  king's 
crown  and  his  regalty,  used  and  approved  of  the  time  of  all  his 
progenitors;  wherefore  they  and  all  the  liege  commons  of  the 
same  realm  will  stand  with  our  said  lord  the  king,  and  his  said 
crown,  and  his  regalty,  in  the  cases  aforesaid,  and  in  all  other 
cases  attempted  against  him,  his  crown,  and  his  regalty  in  all 
points,  to  live  and  to  die;  and  moreover  they  pray  the  king,  and 
him  require  by  way  of  justice,  that  he  would  examine  all  the 
lords  in  the  parliament,  as  well  spiritual  as  temporal  severally, 
and  all  the  states  of  the  parliament,  how  they  think  of  the  cases 
aforesaid,  which  be  so  openly  against  the  king's  crown,  and  in 
derogation  of  his  regalty,  and  how  they  will  stand  in  the  same 
cases  with  our  lord  the  king,  in  upholding  the  rights  of  the  said 
crown  and  regalty :  Whereupon  the  lords  temporal  so  demanded, 
have  answered  every  one  by  himself,  that  the  cases  aforesaid  be 
clearly  in  derogation  of  the  king's  crown,  and  of  his  regalty,  as  it 
is  well  known,  and  hath  been  of  a  long  time  known,  and  that  they 
will  stand  with  the  same  crown  and  regalty  in  these  cases  specially, 
and  in  all  other  cases  which  shall  be  attempted  against  the  same 


158  English  Constitutional  Documents 

crown  and  regalty  in  all  points,  with  all  their  power :  and  more- 
over it  was  demanded  of  the  lords  spiritual  there  being,  and  the 
procurators  of  others  being  absent,  their  advice  and  will  in  all 
these  cases;  which  lords,  that  is  to  say,  the  archbishops,  bishops, 
and  other  prelates,  being  in  the  said  parliament  severally  exam- 
ined, making  protestations,  that  it  is  not  their  mind  to  say,  nor 
affirm,  that  our  holy  father  the  pope  may  not  excommunicate 
bishops,  nor  that  he  may  make  translation  of  prelates  after  law 
of  holy  Church,  answered  and  said,  that  if  any  execution  of  pro- 
cesses made  in  the  king's  court,  as  before,  be  made  by  any,  and 
censures  of  excommunications  be  made  against  any  bishops  of 
England,  or  any  other  of  the  king's  liege  people,  for  that  they 
have  made  execution  of  such  commandments,  and  that  if  any 
executions  of  such  translations  be  made  of  any  prelates  of  the 
same  realm,  which  lords  be  very  profitable  and  necessary  to  our 
said  lord  the  king  and  to  his  said  realm,  or  that  his  sage  men  of 
his  council,  without  his  assent,  and  against  his  will,  be  removed 
and  carried  out  of  the  realm,  so  that  the  substance  and  treasure 
of  the  realm  may  be  consumed,  that  the  same  is  against  the  king 
and  his  crown,  as  it  is  contained  in  the  petition  before  named: 
and  likewise  the  same  procurators,  every  one  by  himself  exam- 
ined upon  the  said  matters,  have  answered  and  said  in  the  same, 
and  for  their  lords,  as  the  said  bishops  have  said  and  answered, 
and  that  the  said  lords  spiritual  will  and  ought  to  stand  with  the 
king  in  these  cases  lawfully  in  maintaining  of  his  crown,  and  in 
all  other  cases  touching  his  crown  and  his  regalty,  as  they  be 
bound  by  their  liegeance :  whereupon  our  said  lord  the  king,  by 
the  assent  aforesaid,  and  at  the  request  of  his  said  commons, 
hath  ordained  and  established,  that  if  any  purchase  or  pursue,  or 
cause  to  be  purchased  or  pursued  in  the  court  of  Rome,  or  else- 
where, any  such  translations,  processes,  and  sentences  of  excom- 
munications, bulls,  instruments,  or  any  other  things  whatsoever, 
which  touch  the  king  our  lord,  against  him,  his  crown,  and  his 
regalty,  or  his  realm,  as  is  aforesaid,  and  they  which  bring  them 
within  the  realm,  or  them  receive,  or  make  thereof  notification 
or  any  other  execution  whatsoever  within  the  same  realm  or  with- 
out, that  they,  their  notaries,  procurators,  maintainors,  abettors, 
fautors,  and  counsellors,  shall  be  put  out  of  the  king's  protec- 
tion, and  their  lands  and  tenements,  goods  and  chattels,  forfeit 
to  our  lord  the  king;  and  that  they  be  attached  by  their  bodies, 
if  they  may  be  found,  and  brought  before  the  king  and  his  coun- 
cil, there  to  answer  to  the  cases  aforesaid,  or  that  process  be 
made  against  them  by  prczmunire  facias,  in  manner  as  it  is 


Delegation  of  Powers  by  Parliament         159 

ordained  in  other  statutes  of  provisors,  and  other  which  do  sue 
in  the  court  of  another  in  derogation  of  the  regalty  of  our  lord 
the  king. 

99.  New  Definition  of  Treason 

(September,  1397.    French  text  and  translation,  2  S.  R.  94.'    2  Stubbs, 
520,  3  Stubbs,  537.) 


3.  ITEM,  it  is  ordained  and  stablished,  that  every 
which  compasseth  or  purposeth  the  death  of  the  king,  or 
to  depose  him,  or  to  render  up  his  liege  homage,  or  he  that 
raiseth  people  and  rideth  against  the  king  to  make  war  within  his 
realm,  and  of  that  be  duly  attainted  and  judged  in  the  parlia- 
ment, shall  be  judged  as  a  traitor  of  high  treason  against  the 
crown;  and  he  for  him  and  his  heirs  shall  forfeit  all  the  lands, 
tenements  and  possessions,  liberties  and  all  other  hereditaments, 
which  he  hath  or  any  other  hath  to  his  use,  or  had  the  day  of  the 
treason  done,  as  well  in  fee  tail  as  in  fee  simple,  to  the  king  and 
his  heirs,  as  well  such  lands  holdenof  other  as  of  himself  forever; 
and  also  such  possession  as  other  have  to  his  use.  *  *  * 


100.  Delegation  of  Powers  by  Parliament 
of  Shrewsbury 

(1398.     French  original,  3  R.  P.  368,  No.  74.    Translation  by  Editors. 
2  Stubbs,  522.) 

FEM,  the  same  Thursday,  the  commons  prayed  the  king,  as 
they  had  divers  petitions  before  them  both  for  special  per- 
sons and  others,  neither  read  nor  answered,  and  also  several  other 
matters  and  affairs  which  had  been  moved  in  the  presence  of  the 
king,  which,  because  of  the  shortness  of  the  time,  could  not  well 
be  satisfactorily  determined  at  present:  That  it  should  please  the 
king  to  give  full  power  to  certain  lords,  and  to  other  persons 
whom  it  should  please  him,  to  examine,  answer,  and  determine 
the  said  petitions  and  the  matters  and  affairs  aforesaid  and  all 
the  dependencies  of  the  same.  To  which  prayer  the  king  assented. 
And  thereupon,  with  the  authority  and  assent  of  parliament,  were 


160          English  Constitutional  Documents 

ordained  and  appointed  John  duke  of  Lancaster,  Edmond  duke 
of  York,  Edward  duke  of  Albemarle,  Thomas  duke  of  Surrey,  John 
duke  of  Exeter,  John  marquis  of  Dorset,  Roger  earl  of  March, 
John  earl  of  Salisbury,  Henry  earl  of  Northumberland,  Thomas 
earl  of  Gloucester,  Thomas  earl  of  Worcester,  and  Thomas  earl 
of  Wiltshire,  or  six  of  them;  John  Bussey,  Henry  Green,  John 
Russell,  Richard  Chelmswick,  Robert  Teye,  and  John  Golafre, 
knights  coming  for  the  parliament,  or  three  of  them,  to  examine, 
answer,  and  plainly  determine  both  all  the  said  petitions  and  the 
matters  contained  in  them,  and  all  other  matter  and  affairs  moved 
in  the  presence  of  the  king  and  all  the  dependences  of  the  same 
not  determined,  according  as  it  seemed  best  to  them  by  their  good 
advice  and  discretion  in  this  matter  by  authority  of  the  said 
parliament. 


101.  Grant  of  Subsidy  for  Life  to  Richard  II 
by  Parliament  of  Shrewsbury 

(1398.     French  original,  3  J?.  P.  368,  No.  75.    Translation  by  Editors. 
2  Stubbs,  522.) 

ITEM,  the  same  day,  the  commons  of  the  realm,  with  assent 
of  the  lords  spiritual  and  temporal,  granted  to  the  king  the 
subsidy  of  wools,  leather,  and  woolfells  for  the  term  of  his  life, 
and  one  fifteenth,  and  tenth,  and  half  a  fifteenth  and  half  a  tenth, 
in  the  following  manner  and  form. 

To  the  reverence  of  God  and  of  Holy  Church,  and  for  the  good 
and  peace  of  the  realm,  and  for  the  full  affection  and  complete 
confidence  which  the  commons  of  the  realm  have  in  our  very 
redoubtable  lord  the  king,  the  said  commons  with  the  assent  of 
the  lords  spiritual  and  temporal,  at  the  parliament  summoned 
and  commenced  at  Westminster  and  adjourned  to  Shrewsbury, 
have  granted  to  our  said  lord  the  king  the  subsidy  of  wools, 
leather,  and  woolfells  leaving  the  kingdom  which  the  king  takes 
at  present,  to  have  during  the  life  of  our  said  lord  the  king. 
And  also  six  shillings,  eight  pence  on  the  sack  of  wool  and  of 
leather,  and  woolfells,  to  be  levied  from  foreigners  over  and  above 
that  accustomed  to  be  paid  for  a  sack  of  wool  before  this  time : 
On  protest  that  this  grant  be  not  considered  either  a  precedent 
or  example  in  the  time  of  the  succeeding  kings  of  England  in 
time  to  come.  And  also,  for  the  great  love  and  full  affection 
which  our  said  lord  the  king  has  for  his  said  commons,  the  said 


Resignation  of  Richard  II  161 

commons  with  assent  of  the  lords  spiritual  and  temporal,  have 
granted  to  our  said  lord  the  king  one  entire  fifteenth  and  tenth, 
and  one  half-fifteenth  and  half-tenth,  to  be  levied  on  the  people 
in  the  manner  customary  before  this  time,  to  the  terms  under- 
written :  that  is  to  say,  one  half-fifteenth  and  half-tenth,  in  the 
month  of  St.  Michael  next  to  come,  and  another  half-fifteenth 
and  half-tenth,  on  the  fifteenth  of  Easter  then  next  ensuing;  and 
another  half-fifteenth  and  half-tenth  on  the  fifteenth  of  St. 
Michael  thereafter  next  ensuing. 


102.  Resignation  of  Richard  II 

(1399.     Latin  original,  3  X.  P.  416.    Translation  by  Editors.    2  Stubbs, 
528,  529,  3  Stubbs,  14,  528.) 

IN  God's  name,  Amen.  I,  Richard,  by  the  grace  of  God,  king 
of  England  and  France,  and  lord  of  Ireland,  absolve  all  arch- 
bishops and  bishops  of  the  said  kingdoms  and  lordships,  and  all 
other  prelates  whatsoever  of  secular  or  regular  churches  of  what- 
soever dignity,  rank,  state,  or  condition  they  may  be,  and  dukes, 
marquises,  earls,  barons,  knights,  vassals,  and  vavassors  and  all 
my  liege  men,  clerical  or  secular  by  whatsoever  name  they  are 
known,  from  the  oath  of  fealty  and  homage  and  all  others  what- 
soever made  to  me  and  from  every  bond  of  allegiance,  royalty 
and  lordship  with  which  they  have  been  or  are  bound  by  oath  to 
me,  or  bound  in  any  other  way  whatsoever;  and  these  and  their 
heirs  and  successors  in  perpetuity  from  these  bonds  and  oaths  and 
all  other  bonds  whatsoever,  I  relieve,  free,  and  excuse;  absolved, 
excused  and  freed  as  far  as  pertains  to  my  person,  I  release  them 
from  every  performance  of  their  oath  which  could  follow  from 
their  promises  or  from  any  of  them;  and  all  royal  dignity  and 
majesty  and  royalty  and  also  the  lordship  and  power  in  the  said 
realms  and  lordship;  and  my  other  lordships  and  possessions  or 
whatsoever  others  belong  to  me  in  any  way,  under  whatsoever 
name  they  are  known,  which  are  in  the  aforesaid  realms  and 
lordships  or  elsewhere;  and  all  right  and  color  of  right,  and 
title,  possessions,  and  lordship  which  I  have  ever  had,  still  have 
or  shall  be  able  to  have  in  any  way,  in  these  or  any  of  them,  or 
to  these  with  their  rights  and  everything  pertaining  to  them  or 
dependent  upon  them  in  any  way  whatsoever;  from  these  or  any 
of  them;  and  also  the  command,  government,  and  administra- 
tion of  such  realms  and  lordships;  and  all  and  every  kind  of 


1 62  English  Constitutional  Documents 

absolute  and  mixed  sovereignty  and  jurisdiction  in  these  realms 
and  lordships  belonging  to  me  or  to  belong  to  me;  the  name  and 
honor  and  royal  right  and  title  of  king,  freely,  voluntarily,  une- 
quivocally, and  absolutely,  and  in  the  best  fashion,  wise,  and 
form  possible,  in  these  writings  I  renounce,  and  resign  as  a 
whole,  and  release  in  word  and  deed,  and  yield  my  place  in 
them,  and  retire  from  them  forever. 

Saving  to  my  successors,  kings  of  England,  in  the  realms  and 
lordships  and  all  other  premises  in  perpetuity,  the  rights  belong- 
ing or  to  belong  to  them,  in  them  or  in  any  of  them,  I  confess, 
acknowledge,  consider,  and  truly  judge  from  sure  knowledge 
that  I  in  the  rule  and  government  of  the  said  realms  and  lord- 
ships and  all  pertaining  to  them  have  been  and  am  wholly  insuf- 
ficient and  useless,  and  because  of  my  notorious  deserts  am  not 
unworthy  to  be  deposed.  And  I  swear  on  these  holy  gospels 
touched  bodily  by  me  that  I  will  never  contravene  these  premises 
of  renunciation,  resignation,  demise  and  surrender,  nor  will  I 
impugn  them  in  any  way,  in  deed  or  in  word  by  myself  or  by 
another  or  others,  or  as  far  as  in  me  lies  permit  them  to  be  con- 
travened or  impugned  publicly  or  secretly,  but  I  will  hold  this 
renunciation,  resignation,  demise,  and  surrender  unalterable  and 
acceptable  and  I  will  keep  it  firmly  and  observe  it  in  whole  and 
in  every  part;  so  may  God  help  me  and  these  holy  scriptures  of 
God.  I,  Richard,  the  aforesaid  king,  subscribe  myself  with  my 
own  hand. 


103.    Deposition  of  Richard  II  and  Election 
of  Henry  IV 

(1399.     Latin  and  English  original,  3  R.  P.  422.    Translation  by  Editors. 
2  Stubbs,  528,  531,  3  Stubbs,  13,  14.) 

51.  AND  since  it  seemed  to  all  these  estates,  after  they  had 
made  examination  separately  and  also  together,  that  these 
crimes  and  shortcomings  were  sufficient  and  notorious  enough 
for  the  deposition  of  the  said  king,  having  considered  his 
confession  concerning  his  own  insufficiency  and  the  other 
things  contained  in  the  said  renunciation  and  surrender  openly 
set  forth,  all  the  abovesaid  estates  unanimously  agreed  that  for 
these  abundant  reasons  they  should  proceed  to  the  deposition  of 
the  said  king,  for  the  greater  safety  and  tranquillity  of  the  people 
and  for  the  security  of  the  realm. 


Deposition  of  Richard  II  163 

Then  the  aforesaid  estate  unanimously  and  amicably  appointed 
certain  commissioners,  namely  the  bishop  of  St.  Asaph,  the  abbot 
of  Glastonbury,  the  earl  of  Gloucester,  the  lord  of  Berkeley, 
Thomas  Erpingham  and  Thomas  Gray,  knights,  and  Wm.  Thirn- 
ing,  justice,  and  then  publicly  deputed  them  to  carry  out  the 
sentence  of  such  deposition  and  to  depose  the  said  king  Richard 
from  all  the  dignity,  majesty  and  honor  of  a  king,  in  the  place 
of  and  with  the  name  and  authority  of  all  the  aforesaid  estates, 
as  had  been  observed  in  like  cases  of  the  ancient  custom  of  the 
realm.  And  thereupon  the  said  commissioners,  taking  upon 
themselves  the  burden  of  such  a  commission  and  seating  them- 
selves before  the  said  royal  throne  as  the  tribunal,  some  delibera- 
tion having  been  held  previously  respecting  these  things,  brought 
the  sentence  of  deposition  reduced  to  writing,  in  the  place  of 
and  with  the  name  and  authority  of  the  aforesaid  and  they  had 
the  said  sentence  of  the  will  and  command  of  the  commissioners, 
read  and  delivered  by  the  said  bishop  of  St.  Asaph,  their  fellow 
commissioner  and  colleague,  in  the  following  words: 

52.  In  the  name  of  God,  Amen.  We,  John  bishop  of  St. 
Asaph,  John  abbot  of  Glastonbury,  Thomas  earl  of  Gloucester, 
Thomas  lord  Berkeley,  Thomas  Erpingham  and  Thomas  Gray, 
knights,  and  William  Thirning,  justice,  for  the  peers  and  nobles 
of  the  realm  of  England  spiritual  and  temporal,  and  for  the 
commons  of  the  realm,  representing  all  the  estates  of  this 
realm,  commissioners  specially  deputed  for  the  writings  below, 
seated  before  the  tribunal,  after  having  considered  the  very  many 
perjuries,  and  the  cruelty,  and  many  other  crimes  of  the  said 
Richard,  which  he  has  committed  and  perpetrated  in  respect  to 
his  rule  in  the  above  mentioned  realms  and  lordship  throughout 
the  time  of  his  rule  and  having  openly  and  publicly  proposed, 
shown,  and  declared  them  in  the  presence  of  the  said  estates; 
which  have  been  and  are  so  public,  notorious,  plainly  manifest, 
and  famous  that  none  have  been  able  or  are  able  to  be  concealed 
by  subterfuge;  and  also  by  the  confession  of  the  aforesaid  Richard 
who  acknowledges  and  considers  and  truly  judges  from  his  own 
sure  knowledge  that  he  has  been  and  is  utterly  insufficient  and 
useless  in  the  rule  and  government  of  the  aforesaid  realms  and 
lordship  and  those  things  pertaining  to  them,  and  on  account  of 
his  notorious  deserts  is  not  unworthy  to  be  deposed,  which  was 
set  forth  previously  by  Richard  himself,  and  published  accord- 
ing to  his  will  and  command  in  the  presence  of  the  said  estates, 
and  by  them  made  known  and  explained  to  the  public,  and 
diligent  deliberation  having  previously  been  held  concerning 


164          English  Constitutional  Documents 

these  and  all  things  involved  in  this  business  in  the  presence  of 
the  aforesaid  estates  and  by  us,  in  the  representation,  name  and 
authority  committed  to  us  in  the  matter,  for  abundant  reason  and 
as  a  precaution  for  the  rule  and  government  of  the  said  realms 
and  lordship  and  the  rights  pertaining  to  them,  we  pronounce, 
decree,  and  declare  that  Richard  himself  has  been  and  is  useless, 
incapable,  utterly  insufficient  and  unworthy;  and  because  of  the 
circumstances  stated  above  and  in  consequence  of  them  we  pro- 
nounce, decree  and  declare  him  worthy  to  be  deposed  from  all 
royal  dignity  and  honor,  if  any  dignity  and  honor  of  this  sort 
remain  to  him,  and  by  a  like  precaution,  we  depose  him  by  our 
definite  sentence  in  all  and  each  of  these  writings.  To  the 
lords,  archbishops,  bishops  and  prelates,  dukes,  marquisses, 
earls,  knights,  vassals  and  vavassors,  and  other  men  of  the  said 
realms  and  lordship,  and  of  other  places  subject  to  the  said 
realms  and  lordship,  their  subjects  and  liegemen  whomsoever, 
it  is  expressly  forbidden  that  any  one  of  them  should  in  any  way 
submit  or  attend  to  the  said  Richard  as  if  he  were  king  or  lord 
of  the  aforesaid  realms  and  lordship. 

53.  Moreover  in  addition  the  said  estates  wishing  that  nothing 
should  be  lacking  which  can  be  and  ought  to  be  required  con- 
cerning these  circumstances  set  down  above,  after  having  consid- 
ered separately,  appointed  the  same  persons  formerly  nominated 
commissioners  to  be  their  procurators  jointly  and  separately,  to 
bear  and  to  restore  to  the  said  king  Richard  the  homage  and 
fealty  formerly  rendered  to  him  and  to  announce  all  the  circum- 
stances touching  this  deposition  and  renunciation,  if  it  should 
be  necessary.  And  immediately,  as  it  was  evident  from  the  cir- 
cumstances set  down  above  and  their  occasion  that  the  realm  of 
England  with  its  appurtenances  was  vacant,  the  aforesaid  Henry 
duke  of  Lancaster  rising  from  his  place,  and  standing  erect  so 
that  he  might  be  able  to  be  well  seen  by  the  people  and  protect- 
ing himself  humbly  with  the  sign  of  the  cross  on  his  forehead  and 
breast,  after  first  calling  upon  the  name  of  Christ,  claimed  the 
aforesaid  English  realm  inasmuch  as  it  was  vacant,  together  with 
the  crown  and  all  its  parts  and  appurtenances  in  his  mother 
tongue  in  this  form  of  words: 

In  the  name  of  the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost,  I,  Henry  of 
Lancaster,  challenge  this  realm  of  England  and  the  crown  with 
all  the  members  and  the  appurtenances,  as  I  that  am  descended 
by  right  line  of  the  blood  coming  from  the  good  lord  king  Henry 
III,  and  through  that  right,  that  God  of  his  grace  hath  sent  me 
with  help  of  my  kin  and  of  my  friends  to  recover  it:  the 


Act  for  the  Security  of  the  Subject          165 

which  realm  was  in  point  to  be  undone  for  default  of  governance 
and  undoing  of  the  good  laws. 

54.  After  the  lord  spiritual  and  temporal  and  all  the  estates 
there  present  had  considered  this  demand  and  claim  singly  and 
jointly  what  was  to  be  judged  concerning  that  demand  and  claim, 
the  said  estate  with  all  the  people,  without  any  difficulty  or 
delay,  unanimously  agreed  that  the  aforesaid  duke  should  reign 
over  them.  And  as  soon  as  the  said  king  had  showed  to  the 
estates  of  the  realm  the  signet  of  king  Richard,  delivered  to  him 
as  a  token  of  good  will  as  is  clearly  set  forth,  the  aforesaid  arch- 
bishop, taking  the  said  king  Henry  by  his  right  hand,  led  him 
to  the  aforesaid  royal  throne.  And  after  the  said  king  on  bended 
knees  before  the  said  throne  had  prayed  for  a  short  time,  the 
said  archbishop  of  Canterbury,  joining  to  himself  the  aforesaid 
archbishop  of  York,  took  the  said  king  and  caused  him  to  sit  on 
the  aforesaid  royal  throne,  while  the  people  applauded  vigorously 
with  excessive  joy. 

104.  Act  for  the  Security  of  the  Subject  and 
in  Repeal  of  the  Acts  of  the  Parliament 
of  Shrewsbury 

(October,  1399.     French  text  and  translation,  2  S.  R.  III.    3  Stubbs,  19.) 

HENRY,  by  the  grace  of  God,  king  of  England,  and  of  France, 
and  lord  of  Ireland,  to  the  laud  and  honor  of  God,  and 
reverence  of  Holy  Church,  for  to  nourish  unity,  peace,  and  con- 
cord in  all  parts  within  the  realm  of  England,  and  for  the  redress 
and  recovery  of  the  same  realm,  which  now  of  late  hath  been 
dangerously  put  to  great  ruin,  mischief,  and  desolation:  of  the 
assent  of  the  prelates,  dukes,  earls,  and  barons,  and  at  the  instance 
and  special  request  of  the  commons  of  the  same  realm,  assembled 
at  his  parliament  holden  at  Westminster  in  the  feast  of  St.  Faith 
the  Virgin,  the  first  year  of  his  reign,  hath  caused  to  be  ordained, 
and  established  certain  ordinances  and  statutes  in  form  as  here- 
after followeth. 

i.  First,  that  Holy  Church  have  and  enjoy  all  her  rights, 
liberties,  and  franchises,  entirely  and  without  inblemishing : 
and  that  the  great  charter,  and  the  charter  of  the  forest,  and 
other  good  ordinances  and  statutes  made  in  the  time  of  his  noble 
progenitors,  and  not  repealed,  be  firmly  holden  and  kept  in  all 
points :  and  that  the  peace  within  this  realm  be  holden  and  kept, 


1 66  English  Constitutional  Documents 

so  that  all  his  lawful  liege  people  and  subjects  may  from  hence- 
forth safely  and  peaceably  go,  come,  and  dwell,  according  to  the 
laws  and  usages  of  the  same  realm;  and  that  good  justice  and 
even  right  be  done  to  every  person. 

2.  Item,  that  no  lord  spiritual  nor  temporal  nor  other  person, 
of  what  estate  or  condition  that  he  be,  which  came  with  our 
sovereign  lord  the  king  that  now  is  into  the  realm  of  England, 
nor  none  other  persons,  whatsoever  they  be,  then  dwelling  within 
the  same  realm,  and  which  came  to  the  king  in  aid  of  him  to 
pursue  them  that  were  against  the  good  intent  of  our  sovereign 
lord  the  king  ahd  the  common  profit  of  the  realm,  in  which  pur- 
suit Richard  late  king  of  England  the  second  after  the  conquest 
was  pursued,  taken,  and  put  in  ward,  and  yet  remaineth  in  ward, 
be  impeached,  grieved  nor  vexed,  in  person  nor  in  goods,  in  the 
king's  court  nor  in  the  court  of  none  other  for  the  pursuit  of  the 
said  king,  taking  and  withholding  of  his  body,  nor  for  the  pur- 
suit of  any  other,  taking  of  persons  and  chattels  or  of  the  death 
ol  a  man,  or  any  other  thing  done  in  the  said  pursuit,  from  the 
day  that  the  said  king  that  now  is  arrived,  till  the  day  of  the 
coronation  of  our  said  sovereign  lord  king  Henry.    And  the  intent 
of  the  king  is  not  that  offenders,  which  committed  trespasses  or 
other  offences  out  of  the  said  pursuit  without  special  warrant 
shall  be  aided  or  have  any  advantage  of  this  statute;  but  that 
they  be  thereof  answerable  at  the  common  law. 

3.  Item,   whereas  the   Monday  next  after   the   feast   of   the 
Exaltation  of  the  Holy  Cross,  the  xxi  year  of  the  reign  of  the 
said  late  King  Richard,  a  parliament  was  summoned  and  holden 
at  Westminster,  and  from  thence  adjourned  to  Shrewsbury,  at 
which  town  a  certain  power  was  committed  by  authority  of  the 
parliament,  to  certain  persons  to  proceed  upon  certain  articles 
and  matters  comprised  in  the  roll  of  the  parliament  thereof  made, 
as  by  the  same  roll  may  appear,  in  which  parliament,  and  also 
by  authority   foresaid,  divers  statutes,  judgments,  ordinances,  and 
stablishments  were  made,  ordained,  and  given  erroneously  and 
right   sorrowfully;    in    great    disherison    and    final    destruction 
and  undoing  of  many  honorable  lords  and  other  liege  people  of 
the  realm:   and  of  their  heirs  forever :  our  sovereign  lord  the 
king,  considering  the  great  mischiefs  aforesaid,  by  the  advice 
and  assent  of  all  the  lords  spiritual  and  temporal,  and  of  all  the 
commonalty,  hath  judged  the  said  parliament,  holden  the  said 
xxi  year,  and  the  authority  thereof  given,  as  afore  is  said,  with 
all  the  circumstances  and  dependents  thereupon  to  be  of  no  force 
nor  value :  and  that  the  same  parliament,  with  the  authority  afore- 


Haxey's  Case  167 

said,  and  all  the  circumstances  and  dependents  thereupon,  be 
wholly  reversed,  revoked,  voided,  undone,  repealed,  and  annulled 
forever. 

********* 


105.    Haxey's  Case 

(1399.     French  original,  3  R.  P.  434,  No.  104.    Translation  by  Editors. 
2  Stubbs,  516,  624.) 

TTEM,  as  at  the  parliament  held  at  Westminster  on  the  day  of 
-»•  St.  Vincent,  in  the  twentieth  year  of  King  Richard,  for  the 
honor  and  profit  of  the  said  king  and  all  the  realm.  Thomas 
Haxey,  clerk,  presented  a  bill  to  the  commons  of  the  said  par- 
liament; for  which  bill,  by  the  wish  of  the  said  king,  the  said 
Thomas  was  adjudged  a  traitor,  and  forfeited  all  that  he  had, 
contrary  to  the  right  and  the  custom  which  had  been  used  before 
in  parliament,  in  destruction  of  the  customs  of  the  commons. 
May  it  please  our  very  gracious  lord  the  king  in  this  present  par- 
liament to  amend  that  judgment  and  make  it  void  as  erroneous; 
and  to  reinstate  the  said  Thomas  fully  in  his  rank,  estate,  goods, 
and  chattels,  ferms,  annuities,  pensions,  lands,  tenements,  rents, 
office,  advowsons,  and  possessions  whatsoever  with  their  appurte- 
nances and  that  he  be  able  to  enter  upon  the  aforesaid  ferms,  annui- 
ties, lands,  tenements,  rents,  office,  advowsons,  and  possessions 
and  to  hold  them  as  he  held  them  the  day  of  the  drawing  up  of  the 
said  bill :  even  the  judgment  or  any  declaration  by  this  cause, 
gift,  or  grant  of  these  goods,  chattels,  ferms,  annuities,  pensions, 
lands,  tenements,  rents,  offices,  advowsons,  and  possessions,  or 
of  any  of  them,  to  any  other  person  made  in  any  way  since  the 
said  judgment  notwithstanding.  As  well  in  fulfillment  of  the  right 
as  for  the  saving  of  the  liberties  of  the  said  commons. 

The  king  wills,  by  the  advice  and  assent  of  all  the  lords  spir- 
itual and  temporal,  that  the  judgment  rendered  against  Thomas 
Haxey,  clerk,  in  the  parliament  held  at  Westminster  in  the  twen- 
tieth year  of  the  late  king  Richard,  be  wholly  annulled,  reversed, 
repealed  and  made  void  and  held  of  no  force  or  effect;  and  that 
the  said  Thomas  be  reinstated  in  his  name  and  reputation,  and 
made  and  held  an  able  person  such  as  he  was  before  the  said 
judgment  was  rendered  —  as  in  the  record  made  thereof  and 
enrolled  before  in  this  roll  of  parliament  as  appears  more  at 
length. 


1 68          English  Constitutional   Documents 
1 06.    The  Statute  "De  Haeretico" 

(1401.     Latin  text  and  translation,  2  S.  J?.  125.     3  Stubbs,  33,  369.) 


15.  ITEM,  whereas  it  is  showed  to  our  sovereign  lord  the 
king  on  the  behalf  of  the  prelates  and  clergy  of  his  realm  of 
England  in  this  present  parliament,  that  although  the  catholic 
faith  builded  upon  Christ,  and  by  his  apostles  and  the  holy 
church  sufficiently  determined,  declared,  and  approved,  hath 
been  hitherto  by  good  and  holy  and  most  noble  progenitors 
and  predecessors  of  our  sovereign  lord  the  king  in  the  said  realm 
amongst  all  the  realms  of  the  world,  most  devoutly  observed,  and 
the  church  of  England  by  his  said  most  noble  progenitors  and 
ancestors,  to  the  honor  of  God  and  of  the  whole  realm  aforesaid, 
laudably  endowed,  and  in  her  rights  and  liberties  sustained, 
without  that  that  the  same  faith  or  the  said  church  was  hurt  or 
grievously  oppressed,  or  else  perturbed  by  any  perverse  doctrine 
or  wicked  heretical  or  erroneous  opinions;  yet  nevertheless  divers 
false  and  perverse  people  of  a  certain  new  sect,  of  the  said  faith, 
of  the  sacraments  of  the  church,  and  the  authority  of  the  same 
damnably  thinking,  and  against  the  law  of  God  and  of  the  church 
usurping  the  office  of  preaching,  do  perversely  and  maliciously 
in  divers  places  within  the  said  realm  under  the  color  of  dis- 
sembled holiness,  preach  and  teach  these  days  openly  and  privily 
divers  new  doctrines,  and  wicked  heretical  and  erroneous  opin- 
ions, contrary  to  the  same  faith  and  blessed  determinations  of 
the  holy  church;  and  of  such  sect  and  wicked  doctrine  and 
opinions,  they  make  unlawful  conventicles  and  confederacies, 
they  hold  and  exercise  schools,  they  make  and  write  books,  they 
do  wickedly  instruct  and  inform  people,  and  as  much  as  they  may 
excite  and  stir  them  to  sedition  and  insurrection,  and  maketh 
great  strife  and  division  among  the  people,  and  other  enormities 
horrible  to  be  heard  daily  do  perpetrate  and  commit,  in  subver- 
sion of  the  said  catholic  faith  and  doctrine  of  the  holy  church, 
in  diminution  of  divine  worship,  and  also  in  destruction  of  the 
estates,  rights  and  liberties  of  the  said  church  of  England;  by 
which  sect  and  wicked  and  false  preachings,  doctrines,  and 
opinions  of  the  said  false  and  perverse  people,  not  only  most 
greatest  peril  of  the  souls,  but  also  many  more  other  hurts,  slan- 
ders, and  perils,  which  God  prohibit,  might  come  to  this  realm, 
unless  it  be  the  more  plentifully  and  speedily  holpen  by  the 


The  Statute  "De  Haeretico"  169 

king's  majesty  in  this  behalf;  especially  since  the  diocesans  of 
the  said  realm  cannot  by  their  jurisdiction  spiritual,  without  aid 
of  the  said  royal  majesty,  sufficiently  correct  the  said  false  and 
perverse  people,  nor  refrain  their  malice,  because  the  said  false 
and  perverse  people  do  go  from  diocese  to  diocese,  and  will  not 
appear  before  the  said  diocesans,  but  the  same  diocesans  and 
their  jurisdiction  spiritual,  and  the  keys  of  the  church  with  the 
censures  of  the  same,  do  utterly  contemn  and  despise;  and  so 
their  wicked  preachings  and  doctrines  doth  from  day  to  day 
continue  and  exercise,  to  the  utter  destruction  of  all  order  and 
rule  of  right  and  reason.  Upon  which  novelties  and  excesses 
above  rehearsed,  the  prelates  and  clergy  aforesaid,  and  also  the 
commons  of  the  said  realm  being  in  the  same  parliament,  have 
prayed  our  sovereign  lord  the  king,  that  his  royal  highness  would 
vouchsafe  in  the  said  parliament  to  provide  a  convenient  remedy; 
the  same  our  sovereign  lord  the  king  graciously  considering  the 
premises,  and  also  the  laudable  steps  of  his  said  most  noble  pro- 
genitors and  ancestors,  for  the  conservation  of  the  said  catholic 
faith,  and  sustentation  of  the  said  divine  worship,  and  also  the 
safeguard  of  the  estate,  rights,  and  liberties  of  the  said  church  of 
England,  to  the  laud  of  God,  and  merit  of  our  said  sovereign 
lord  the  king,  and  prosperity  and  honor  of  all  his  said  realm, 
and  for  the  eschewing  of  such  dissensions,  divisions,  hurts, 
slanders,  and  perils,  in  time  to  come,  and  that  this  wicked  sect, 
preachings,  doctrines  and  opinions  should  from  henceforth  cease 
and  be  utterly  destroyed,  by  the  assent  of  the  great  lords  and 
noble  persons  of  the  same  realm,  being  in  the  said  parliament, 
hath  granted,  stablished,  and  ordained,  from  henceforth  firmly 
to  be  observed,  that  none  within  the  said  realm,  or  any  other 
dominions,  subject  to  his  royal  majesty,  presume  to  preach 
openly  or  privily,  without  the  license  of  the  diocesan  of  the  same 
place  first  required  and  obtained,  curates  in  their  own  churches, 
and  persons  hitherto  privileged,  and  other  of  the  canon  law 
granted,  only  except;  nor  that  none  from  henceforth  anything 
preach,  hold,  teach,  or  instruct  openly  or  privily,  or  make  or 
write  any  book  contrary  to  the  catholic  faith  or  determination  of 
the  holy  church,  nor  of  such  sect  and  wicked  doctrines  and  opin- 
ions shall  make  any  conventicles,  or  in  any  wise  hold  or  exercise 
schools;  and  also  that  none  from  henceforth  in  any  wise  favor 
such  preacher,  or  maker  of  any  such  and  like  conventicles,  or 
person  holding  or  exercising  schools,  or  making  or  writing  such 
books,  or  so  teaching,  informing,  or  exciting  the  people,  nor  any 
of  them  maintain  or  any  wise  sustain;  and  that  all  and  singular 


170  English  Constitutional   Documents 

having  such  books  or  any  writings  of  such  wicked  doctrine  and 
opinions,  shall  really  with  effect  deliver  or  cause  to  be  delivered 
all  such  books  and  writings  to  the  diocesan  of  the  same  place 
within  forty  days  from  the  time  of  the  proclamation  of  this  ordi- 
nance and  statute.  And  if  any  person  or  persons,  of  whatsoever 
sex,  estate,  or  condition  that  he  or  they  be,  from  henceforth  do 
or  attempt  against  the  said  royal  ordinance  and  statute  aforesaid 
in  the  premises  or  in  any  of  them,  or  such  books  in  the  form 
aforesaid  do  not  deliver,  then  the  diocesan  of  the  same  place  in 
his  diocese,  such  person  or  persons  in  this  behalf  defamed  or 
evidently  suspected,  and  every  of  them,  may  by  the  authority  of 
the  said  ordinance  and  statute  cause  to  be  arrested,  and  under 
safe  custody  in  his  prisons  to  be  detained,  till  he  or  they  of  the 
articles  laid  to  him  or  them  in  this  behalf,  do  canonically  purge 
him  or  themselves,  or  else  such  wicked  sect,  preachings,  doc- 
trines, and  heretical  and  erroneous  opinions  do  adjure,  accord- 
ing as  the  laws  of  the  church  do  demand  and  require :  so  that 
the  said  diocesan  by  himself  or  his  commissaries  do  openly  and 
judicially  proceed  against  such  persons  so  arrested,  and  remain- 
ing under  his  safe  custody  to  all  effect  of  the  law,  and  determine 
that  same  business  according  to  the  canonical  decrees  within 
three  months  after  the  said  arrest,  any  lawful  impediment  ceas- 
ing. And  if  any  person  in  any  case  above  expressed,  be  before 
the  diocesan  of  the  place  or  his  commissaries  canonically  con- 
vict, then  the  same  diocesan  may  cause  to  be  kept  in  his  prison  the 
said  persons  so  convict  for  the  manner  of  his  default,  and  after 
the  quality  of  the  offense  according  and  as  long  as  to  his  discre- 
tion shall  seem  expedient;  and  moreover  to  put  the  same  person 
to  pay  to  our  sovereign  lord  the  king  a  pecuniary  fine;  except  in 
cases  where  he,  according  to  the  canonical  decrees,  ought  to  be 
left  to  the  secular  court,  according  as  the  same  fine  shall  seem 
competent  to  the  diocesan,  for  the  manner  and  quality  of  the 
offense;  in  which  case  the  same  diocesan  shall  be  bound  to  cer- 
tify the  king  of  the  same  fine  in  his  exchequer  by  his  letters  patents 
sealed  with  his  seal,  to  the  effect  that  such  fine  by  the  king's 
authority  may  be  required  and  levied  to  his  use  of  the  goods  of 
the  same  person  so  convict.  And  if  any  person  within  the  said 
realm  and  dominions,  upon  the  said  wicked  preachings,  doc- 
trines, opinions,  schools,  and  heretical  and  erroneous  informa- 
tions, or  any  of  them,  be  before  the  diocesan  of  the  same  place 
or  his  commissaries  convict  by  sentence,  and  the  same  wicked 
sect,  preachings,  doctrines,  and  opinions,  schools  and  informa- 
tions, do  refuse  duly  to  adjure,  or  by  the  diocesan  of  the  same 


Sir  Arnold  Savage  asks  for  Privileges        171 

place  or  his  commissaries,  after  the  abjuration  made  by  the  same 
person  be  pronounced  relapsed,  so  that  according  to  the  holy 
canons  he  ought  to  be  left  to  the  secular  court,  whereupon  cre- 
dence shall  be  given  to  the  diocesan  of  the  same  place,  or  to  his 
commissaries  in  this  behalf,  then  the  sheriff  of  the  county  of  the 
same  place,  and  mayor  and  sheriffs  or  sheriff,  or  mayor  and  bail- 
iffs of  the  city,  town  and  borough  of  the  same  county  next  to  the 
same  diocesan  or  the  said  commissaries,  shall  be  personally  pres- 
ent in  preferring  of  such  sentences,  by  the  same  diocesan  or  his 
commissaries  against  such  persons,  and  every  of  them,  when  they 
by  the  same  diocesan  or  his  commissaries  shall  be  required;  and 
they  the  same  persons  and  every  of  them,  after  such  sentence 
promulgate,  shall  receive,  and  them  before  the  people  in  an  high 
place  cause  to  be  burnt;  that  such  punishment  may  strike  in  fear 
to  the  minds  of  other,  whereby  no  such  wicked  doctrine  and 
heretical  and  erroneous  opinions,  nor  their  authors  and  fautors  in 
the  said  realm  and  dominions  against  the  catholic  faith,  Christian 
law,  and  determination  of  the  holy  church,  which  God  prohibit, 
be  sustained  or  in  any  wise  suffer :  in  which  all  and  singular  the 
premises  concerning  the  said  ordinance  and  statute,  the  sheriffs, 
mayors  and  bailiffs  of  the  said  counties,  cities,  boroughs,  and 
towns,  shall  be  attending,  aiding  and  supporting  to  the  said 
diocesans  and  their  commissaries. 


107.    Sir  Arnold  Savage  asks  for  the  Privileges 
of  Parliament 

(1401.     French  original,  3  R.  P.  455,  No.  8.    Translation  by  Editors. 
3  Stubbs,  29.) 

OATURDAY,  the  twenty-second  of  January,  the  commons  of 
^  the  realm  presented  to  the  king  Sir  Arnold  Savage  as  their 
speaker  and  procurator  in  parliament  whom  the  king  kindly 
accepted.  And  then  the  said  Sir  Arnold  humbly  requested  the 
king,  that  he  might  make  protestation,  that,  if  he  should  say  any- 
thing through  ignorance,  negligence  or  in  any  other  way  which 
was  not  agreed  to  by  his  companions  or  which  should  be  displeas- 
ing to  the  king,  or  too  little  through  lack  of  wisdom,  or  too 
much  through  folly  or  ignorance  that  the  king  would  excuse  him 
therefor,  and  that  it  might  be  corrected  and  amended  by  his  said 


1 72  English  Constitutional  Documents 

companions :  and  that  the  said  commons  should  have  their  liberty 
in  parliament  as  they  had  had  before  this  time;  and  that  this 
protestation  should  be  recorded  in  the  roll  of  parliament;  which 
protestation  seemed  honest  and  reasonable  to  the  king  and  he 
agreed  to  it.  And  after  that,  the  said  Sir  Arnold,  in  order  to 
have  in  memory  the  pronouncement  of  parliament  which  was 
pronounced  by  the  said  Sir  Wm.  Thirning  on  his  own  authority, 
declared  in  substance  before  the  king  and  his  lords  in  parliament 
the  reasons  for  the  summons  of  the  said  parliament,  to  his  know- 
ledge clearly  and  briefly.  And  besides,  he  prayed  our  said  lord  the 
king  on  the  part  of  the  said  commons  that  on  the  matters  brought 
before  the  said  commons  in  this  present  parliament  they  should 
have  good  advice  and  deliberation  without  being  suddenly  called 
upon  to  reply  to  the  most  important  matters  at  the  end  of  parlia- 
ment, as  had  been  done  before  this  time.  To  which  reply  was 
made  by  the  king  through  the  earl  of  Worcester  that  it  was  not 
the  intention  of  the  king  to  follow  this  order  of  action  and  that 
he  did  not  imagine  any  such  subtlety,  also  that  they  should  have 
good  advice  and  deliberation  from  time  to  time  as  the  need 
demanded. 


1 08.  Members  excused  for  Matters  spoken 
in  Parliament 

(1401.    French  original,  3  Jf.  P.  456,  No.  n.    Translation  by  Editors. 
3  Stubbs,  30.) 

nM,  on  the  same  day  the  said  commons  showed  to  our  lord 
~ie  king  how  on  certain  matters  moved  among  them,  it  might 
happen  in  the  future  that  certain  of  their  companions,  out  of 
complaisance  to  the  king,  and  for  their  own  advancement,  should 
recount  to  our  said  lord  the  king  such  matters  before  they  had 
been  determined  and  discussed  or  agreed  upon  among  the  com- 
mons, by  reason  of  which  the  said  lord  our  king  might  be  griev- 
ously moved  against  the  said  commons  or  some  of  them ;  wherefore 
they  most  humbly  pray  our  lord  the  king,  not  to  receive  any  such 
person  to  recount  such  matters  nor  to  give  him  hearing  nor  any 
faith  nor  credence  to  such  a  person.  To  which  answer  was  made 
by  the  king  that  it  was  his  will  that  the  said  commons  should 
have  deliberation  and  advice,  to  discuss  and  treat  of  all  matters 
among  themselves,  in  order  to  bring  them  to  a  better  end  and 
conclusion,  in  so  far  as  they  know  how,  for  the  welfare  and  honor 


Act  to  regulate  the  Succession  173 

of  himself  and  of  all  his  realm.  And  that  he  would  not  hear  any 
such  person  or  give  him  credence,  before  such  matters  had  been 
shown  to  the  king,  by  the  advice  and  with  the  assent  of  all  the 
commons,  according  to  the  purport  of  their  said  prayer. 


109.  Responses  to  the  Petitions  of  the  Commons 

(1401.     French  original,  3  R.  P.  458,  No.  23.     Translation  by  Editors. 
3  Stubbs,  30.) 

FEM,  the  same  Saturday,  the  said  commons  pointed  out  to  our 
said  lord  the  king,  that,  as  in  divers  parliaments  before  this 
time,  their  common  petitions  had  not  been  answered  before  they 
had  made  their  grant  of  some  aid  or  subsidy  to  our  lord  the  king; 
therefore  they  prayed  our  said  lord  the  king  that  for  the  great 
convenience  and  comfort  of  the  said  commons  it  should  please 
our  lord  the  king  to  grant  to  the  said  commons  that  they  should 
be  able  to  learn  the  responses  to  their  said  petitions  before  any 
such  grant  was  made.  To  which  response  was  made  that  on  this 
matter  the  king  wished  to  confer  with  the  lords  of  parliament  and 
to  do  in  regard  to  it  what  it  should  seem  best  to  do  with  the 
advice  of  the  said  lords.  And  then  afterwards,  that  is  to  say  on 
the  last  day  of  the  parliament,  response  was  made  that  this 
manner  of  deed  had  not  been  seen  nor  used  in  the  time  of  any 
of  his  ancestors  or  predecessors,  that  they  should  have  any  response 
to  their  petitions  or  knowledge  of  the  same  before  they  had  taken 
up  and  completed  all  the  other  business  of  parliament,  be  it  to 
make  any  grant  or  otherwise.  And  therefore  the  king  did  not 
wish  in  any  way  to  change  the  good  customs  and  usages  made 
and  used  in  former  times. 


1 10.  Act  to  regulate  the  Succession 

(1406.     French  text  and  translation,  2  S.  R.  151.     3  Stubbs,  58.) 


2.  ITEM,  at  the  request  and  of  the  assent  of  the  said  lords 
and  commons,  in  the  said  parliament,  it  is  ordained  and 
established,  that  the  inheritance  of  the  crown,  and  of  the 
realms  of  England  and  France,  and  of  all  the  other  dominions  of 


174          English  Constitutional  Documents 

our  said  lord  the  king  beyond  the  sea,  with  all  the  appurtenances, 
shall  be  settled  and  remain  in  the  person  of  the  same  our  lord 
the  king,  and  in  the  heirs  of  his  body  begotten;  and  especially 
at  the  request  and  of  the  assent  aforesaid,  it  is  ordained  and 
established,  pronounced,  decreed,  and  declared,  that  the  lord 
the  prince  Henry  eldest  son  to  our  said  lord  the  king,  be  heir 
apparent  to  the  same  our  lord  the  king,  to  succeed  him  in  the 
said  crown,  realms  and  dominions,  to  have  them  with  all  the 
appurtenances  after  the  decease  of  the  same  our  lord  the  king,  to 
him  and  his  heirs  of  his  body  begotten;  and  if  he  die  without 
heir  of  his  body  begotten,  then  all  the  said  crown,  realms  and 
dominions,  with  all  the  appurtenances,  shall  remain  to  the  Lord 
Thomas,  second  son  of  our  said  lord  the  king,  and  to  the  heirs 
of  his  body  begotten;  and  if  he  die  without  issue  of  his  body, 
that  then  all  the  said  crown,  realms  and  dominions,  with  all  the 
appurtenances,  shall  remain  to  the  Lord  John,  the  third  son  of 
our  said  lord  the  king,  and  to  the  heirs  of  his  body  begotten: 
and  if  he  die  without  heir  of  his  body  begotten,  that  then  all  the 
foresaid  crown,  realms  and  dominions,  with  all  the  appurte- 
nances, shall  remain  to  the  Lord  Humphrey,  the  fourth  son  of 
our  said  lord  the  king,  and  the  heirs  of  his  body  begotten. 


in.   The  Manner  of  electing  Knights  of 
the  Shire 

(1406.     French  and  Latin  text  and  translation,  2  S.  X.  156.    3  Stubbs, 
58,  264,  417.) 


15.  ITEM,  our  lord  the  king,  at  the  grievous  complaint  of 
his  commons  of  the  undue  election  of  the  knights  of  counties 
for  the  parliament,  which  be  sometime  made  of  affection  of 
sheriffs,  and  otherwise  against  the  form  of  the  writs  directed 
to  the  sheriff,  to  the  great  slander  of  the  counties,  and  hindrance 
of  the  business  of  the  commonalty  of  the  said  county;  our  sov- 
ereign lord  the  king,  willing  therein  to  provide  remedy,  by  the 
assent  of  the  lords  spiritual  and  temporal,  and  of  all  the  com- 
monalty of  the  realm  in  this  present  parliament,  hath  ordained 
and  established,  that  from  henceforth  the  elections  of  such 
knights  shall  be  made  in  the  form  as  followeth;  that  is  to  say,  that 


Commons  to  originate  Money  Bills          175 

at  the  next  county  [court],  to  be  holden  after  the  delivery  of  the 
writ  of  the  parliament,  proclamation  shall  be  made  in  the  full 
county  of  the  day  and  place  of  the  parliament,  and  that  all  they 
that  be  there  present,  as  well  suitors  duly  summoned  for  the  same 
cause,  as  other,  shall  attend  to  the  election  of  their  knights  for 
the  parliament;  and  then  in  the  full  county  they  shall  proceed 
to  the  election  freely  and  indifferently,  notwithstanding  any 
request  or  commandment  to  the  contrary;  and  after  that  they  be 
chosen,  the  names  of  the  persons  so  chosen,  be  they  present  or 
absent,  shall  be  written  in  an  indenture  under  the  seals  of  all 
them  that  did  choose  them,  and  tacked  to  the  same  writ  of  the 
parliament;  which  indenture,  so  sealed  and  tacked,  shall  be 
holden  for  the  sheriff's  return  of  the  said  writ,  touching  the 
knights  of  the  shires.  And  that  in  the  writs  of  the  parliament  to 
be  made  hereafter,  this  clause  shall  be  put :  and  thy  election  in 
thy  full  county  made,  distinctly  and  openly,  under  thy  seal  and 
the  seals  of  those  who  were  present  at  that  election,  to  us  in  our 
chancery,  at  the  day  and  place  in  the  writ  contained,  certify 
without  delay. 


112.   Commons  to  originate  Money  Bills 

(1407.     French  original,  3  R.  P.  611.    Translation  by  Editors.     3  Stubbs,  62.) 

21.  ITEM,  on  Friday,  the  second  day  of  December,  which 
was  the  last  day  of  parliament,  the  commons  came  before  the 
king  and  the  lords  in  parliament  and  there  by  command  of 
the  king  a  schedule  of  indemnity  for  a  certain  dispute  between 
the  lords  and  commons  was  read;  and  thereupon  it  was  com- 
manded by  our  said  lord  the  king,  that  the  said  schedule  be 
recorded  in  the  roll  of  parliament;  of  which  schedule  the  tenor 
was  as  follows.  —  Be  it  remembered  that  on  Monday  the  twenty- 
first  day  of  November,  the  king  our  sovereign  lord  being  in  the 
council  room  within  the  abbey  of  Gloucester,  there  being  in  his 
presence  the  lords  spiritual  and  temporal  assembled  at  this  pres- 
ent parliament,  there  was  a  discussion  among  them  on  the  state 
of  the  realm  and  the  defence  of  the  same  in  order  to  resist  the 
malice  of  the  enemies  who  on  every  coast  seemed  to  be  harassing 
the  said  realm  and  the  faithful  subjects  of  the  same,  and  no  man 
would  be  able  to  resist  that  malice,  if  for  the  safe-guard  and 


176          English  Constitutional  Documents 

defence  of  the  said  realm,  our  sovereign  lord  the  king  aforesaid 
had  not  some  notable  aid  and  subsidy  granted  to  him  in  this 
present  parliament.  And  thereupon  it  was  demanded  of  the 
aforesaid  lords  by  way  of  question,  what  aid  would  be  sufficient 
and  needful  in  this  case  ?  To  which  demand  and  question  the 
said  lords  made  response  severally  that  considering  the  necessity 
of  the  king  on  one  side  and  the  poverty  of  his  people  on  the 
other,  a  less  aid  would  not  suffice  than  one  tenth  and  a  half  from 
the  cities  and  boroughs,  and  one  fifteenth  and  a  half  from  other 
laymen.  And  besides,  to  grant  a  prolongation  of  the  subsidy  on 
wools,  leather,  and  woolfells,  and  three  shillings  on  the  ton,  and 
twelve  pence  in  the  pound,  from  the  feast  of  St.  Michael  next 
coming  till  the  feast  of  St.  Michael  in  two  years  then  next  ensu- 
ing. Whereupon,  by  command  of  the  king  our  said  lord,  word 
was  sent  to  the  commons  of  this  present  parliament  to  send  before 
our  said  lord  the  king  and  the  said  lords  a  certain  number  of  the 
members  of  their  company,  to  hear  and  to  report  to  their  compan- 
ions that  which  they  should  have  in  command  of  our  lord  the  king 
aforesaid.  And  thereupon  the  said  commons  sent  to  the  presence 
of  the  king  our  said  lord  and  the  said  lords  twelve  of  their  com- 
panions; to  whom,  by  command  of  our  said  lord  the  king  the 
question  aforesaid  was  declared  and  the  response  of  the  afore- 
said lords  severally  given  to  it.  Which  response,  it  was  the  will 
of  our  said  lord  the  king,  they  should  report  to  the  rest  of  their 
companions;  also  that  they  should  see  to  it  that  they  conformed 
most  nearly  to  the  purpose  of  the  lords  abovesaid.  Which  report 
having  been  made  to  the  said  commons,  they  were  greatly  dis- 
turbed, saying  and  affirming  that  this  was  in  great  prejudice  and 
derogation  of  their  liberties;  and  when  our  said  lord  the  king 
heard  of  this,  not  wishing  that  anything  should  be  done  at  pres- 
ent or  in  time  to  come,  which  could  in  any  way  turn  against  the 
liberty  of  the  estate,  for  which  they  were  come  to  parliament, 
nor  against  the  liberty  of  the  lords  aforesaid,  willed  and  granted 
and  declared,  with  the  advice  and  assent  of  the  said  lords,  in  the 
following  manner.  That  is  to  say,  that  it  is  lawful  for  the  lords 
to  discuss  among  themselves  assembled  in  this  present  parlia- 
ment, and  in  every  other  in  time  to  come,  in  the  absence  of  the 
king,  concerning  the  estate  of  the  realm  and  the  remedy  need- 
ful to  it.  And  that  in  like  manner  it  is  lawful  for  the  commons, 
on  their  part,  to  discuss  together  concerning  the  state  and  remedy 
aforesaid.  Provided  always,  that  the  lords  on  their  part  and  the 
commons  on  theirs,  make  no  report  to  our  said  lord  the  king  of 
any  grant  granted  by  the  commons,  and  agreed  to  by  the  lords, 


Act  restraining  Abuses  by  the  Sheriffs       177 

nor  of  the  negotiations  of  the  said  grant,  before  the  said  lords  and 
commons  shall  be  of  one  assent  and  of  one  accord  in  the  matter, 
and  then  in  the  manner  and  form  customary,  that  is  to  say  by  the 
mouth  of  the  speaker  of  the  said  commons  for  the  time  being,  to 
the  end  that  the  said  lords  and  commons  should  have  the  agree- 
ment of  our  said  lord  the  king.  Besides  this  our  said  lord  the 
king  wills  with  the  assent  of  the  lords  aforesaid  that  the  nego- 
tiations had  as  aforesaid  in  this  present  parliament  neither  be 
treated  as  an  example  in  time  to  come,  nor  be  turned  to  the 
prejudice  or  derogation  of  the  liberty  of  the  estate,  for  which 
the  said  commons  were  now  come  together,  neither  in  this  pres- 
ent parliament  nor  in  any  other  in  time  to  come.  But  wills  that 
the  said  and  all  other  estates  be  as  free  as  they  had  been  before. 


113.   Act  restraining  Abuses  by  the  Sheriffs 
in  Election   Returns 

(1410.     French  text  and  translation,  2  S.  R,  162.     3  Stubbs,  67,  420.) 


i.  FIRST,  whereas  in  the  parliament  holden  at  Westminster, 
the  seventh  year  of  the  reign  of  our  said  lord  the  king,  there 
was  ordained  and  established,  by  a  statute  for  the  preserva- 
tion of  the  liberties  and  franchises  of  the  election  of  the 
knights  of  the  shire  used  through  the  realm,  a  certain  form 
and  manner  of  the  election  of  such  knights,  as  in  the  said  statute 
more  fully  is  contained;  and  forasmuch  as  in  the  same  statute  no 
penalty  was  ordained  or  limited  in  special  upon  the  sheriffs  of 
the  counties,  if  they  make  any  returns  to  the  contrary  of  the 
same  statute;  it  is  ordained  and  stablished,  that  the  justices 
assigned  to  take  assizes,  shall  have  power  to  inquire  in  their 
sessions  of  assizes  of  such  returns  made ;  and  if  it  be  found  by 
inquest,  and  due  examination  before  the  same  justices,  that  any 
such  sheriff  hath  made,  or  hereafter  make,  any  return  contrary 
to  the  tenor  of  the  said  statute,  that  then  the  same  sheriff  shall 
incur  the  penalty  of  one  hundred  pounds  to  be  paid  to  our  said 
lord  the  king;  and  moreover,  that  the  knights  of  the  counties  so 
unduly  returned,  shall  lose  their  wages  of  the  parliament,  of  old 
time  accustomed. 


iy8  English  Constitutional  Documents 


114.    Grant  of  Subsidy,  and  Tunnage  and 
Poundage 

(1413.     French  original,  4  R.  P,  6.     Translation  by  Editors. 
3  Stubbs,  79.) 

17.  To  the  honor  of  God  and  for  the  great  love  and  affec- 
tion which  your  poor  commons  of  your  realm  of  England  have 
for  you,  our  very  excellent  lord,  the  king,  for  the  good  of  the 
kingdom  and  good  governance  in  time  to  come,  your  afore- 
mentioned poor  commons  with  the  assent  of  the  lords  spiritual 
and  temporal,  the  ninth  day  of  June,  the  first  year  of  your 
reign,  in  your  parliament  held  at  Westminster,  grant  to  you,  our 
sovereign  lord,  for  the  defence  of  your  realm  of  England,  the 
subsidy  of  wools,  leather  and  woolfells,  to  be  levied  from  the 
coming  feast  of  St.  Michael  in  the  entire  four  years  next  ensuing, 
in  the  form  which  follows.  That  is  to  say  from  resident  mer- 
chants, on  each  sack  of  wool  43^.  4^.  and  on  each  240 
woolfells  43 s.  $d.  and  on  each  last  of  leather  IOQS.  going  out 
of  the  realm.  And  from  the  alien  merchants,  on  each  sack 
of  wool  SQJ.  and  on  each  240  woolfells  $os.  and  on  each  last  of 
leather  io6x.  8</.  passing  out  of  the  realm.  And  likewise  your 
aforementioned  poor  commons  with  the  consent  aforementioned, 
for  the  safeguard  of  the  sea  grant  to  you  our  very  excellent  lord,  3^. 
on  each  tun  of  wine  coming  into  the  said  realm,  and  passing  out 
from  it,  except  the  tuns  of  wine  taken  at  the  price  for  your  use. 
And  also  the  aforementioned  commons  with  the  consent  afore- 
mentioned grant  to  you  for  the  said  safeguard  of  the  sea,  \zd. 
in  the  pound  of  every  kind  of  merchandise  coming  into  the  said 
realm  and  passing  out  of  it,  except  wools,  hides  and  woolfells. 
And  except  every  kind  of  grain,  flour  and  dried  fish  and  cattle 
coming  into  the  said  realm.  And  except  ale  which  is  carried  out 
of  the  realm  to  supply  your  city  of  Calais  by  people  of  the  cities 
of  Baldesey,  Falkenham,  and  Alderton  on  the  Gosford  and  others 
as  they  are  charged  since  the  conquest  of  the  said  city  of  Calais. 
To  take  and  receive  the  same  3-$-.  on  each  tun  of  wine  and  \zd. 
in  the  pound,  from  the  feast  of  St.  Michael  next  to  come  to  the 
feast  of  St.  Michael  the  entire  year  ensuing.  Upon  the  con- 
dition that  the  merchants  resident  and  alien  coming  into  the 
realm  of  England  with  their  merchandise  be  well  and  honestly 
treated  and  demeaned  with  their  merchandise  on  paying  the  said 
subsidy  of  \2d.  in  the  pound  of  their  merchandise  according 


Residence  required  of  Knights  of  the  Shire     179 

to  the  value  that  the  merchandise  costs  abroad,  and  that  they  be 
believed  on  their  oath  or  by  their  letters.  And  if  the  said  mer- 
chants be  found  false,  that  they  pay  the  double  subsidy  on  that 
which  has  not  paid  customs  duty,  without  other  forfeiture  or  new 
payments,  as  they  were  treated  and  demeaned  in  the  time  of  your 
father,  whom  God  assoil,  and  of  your  noble  progenitors  kings  of 
England,  without  oppression  or  extortion  done  to  the  merchants 
aforementioned.  And  that  the  citizens  and  burgesses  shall  be 
treated  in  pursuing  and  making  their  fines  to  have  their  liberties 
and  franchises,  as  they  were  treated  in  the  time  of  your  father, 
whom  God  assoil,  and  of  your  noble  progenitors  kings  of  Eng- 
land. And  besides  this  your  said  commons  having  regard  to 
the  East  March  and  West  March  of  Scotland,  and  the  marches 
of  Wales  and  the  land  of  Ireland  and  the  marches  of  Calais  and 
the  land  of  Guienne,  and  the  safeguard  of  the  sea,  by  the  entire 
reliance  which  your  said  poor  commons  have  in  you,  our  very 
sovereign  lord,  and  to  the  intent  that,  with  the  aid  of  God, 
by  your  gracious  and  good  government  in  time  to  come  the  said 
commons  have  good  hope  of  being  discharged  of  all  such  sub- 
sidies and  tunnage  and  poundage,  and  taxes  and  tallages  in  time 
to  come,  with  the  consent  aforementioned,  for  the  defence  of  the 
realm  and  safeguard  of  the  sea  grant  to  you  our  very  gracious 
lord  an  entire  fifteenth  and  an  entire  tenth  to  be  levied  from  lay- 
men in  the  accustomed  manner.  That  is  to  say,  a  half  at  the 
feast  of  St.  Martin  in  the  winter  next  coming,  and  the  other  half 
at  the  feast  of  Easter  next  ensuing.  Upon  the  condition  that 
the  sea  be  well  and  sufficiently  guarded  for  the  safety  of  the  navy 
and  the  merchandise  of  the  merchants  of  the  realm  of  England. 
Protesting,  that  your  said  commons  be  not  held  nor  bound  to 
the  wars  of  the  said  marches  of  Scotland,  nor  of  the  land  of 
Ireland,  nor  of  the  marches  of  Wales,  nor  of  the  marches  of 
Calais,  nor  the  land  of  Guienne,  nor  for  the  safeguard  of  the  sea 
by  any  grant  in  time  to  come. 


115.    Residence  required  of  Knights  of  the 
Shire  and  of  their  Electors 

(1413.     French  text  and  translation,  2  S.  R.  170.     3  Stubbs,  80,  438.) 

i.    FIRST,   that   the   statutes   made,  concerning   the   election 
of  the  knights  of  the  shires  to  come  to  the  parliament,  be  holden 


180  English  Constitutional  Documents 

and  kept  in  all  points;  adjoining  to  the  same,  that  the  knights 
of  the  shires  which  from  henceforth  shall  be  chosen  in  every 
shire,  be  not  chosen  unless  they  be  resident  within  the  shires 
where  they  shall  be  chosen,  the  day  of  the  date  of  the  writ 
of  the  summons  of  the  parliament;  and  that  the  knights  and 
esquires,  and  others  which  shall  be  choosers  of  those  knights  of 
the  shires,  be  also  resident  within  the  same  shires,  in  manner  and 
form  as  is  aforesaid.  And  moreover  it  is  ordained  and  estab- 
lished, that  the  citizens  and  burgesses  of  the  cities  and  boroughs 
be  chosen  men,  citizens  and  burgesses  resident,  dwelling  and 
free  in  the  same  cities  and  boroughs,  and  no  other  in  any  wise. 


1 1 6.    Confiscation  of  the  Alien  Priories 

(1414.     French  original,  4  R.  P.  22,  No.  21.    Translation  by  Editors. 
3  Stubbs,  84.) 

TTEM,  the  commons  pray  that  in  case  final  peace  be  made 
J-  between  you  our  sovereign  lord  and  your  adversary  of  France 
in  time  to  come,  and  thereupon  all  the  possessions  of  the  alien 
priories  in  England  should  be  restored  to  the  chief  religious 
houses  abroad  to  which  all  those  possessions  belong,  damage  and 
loss  would  fall  upon  your  said  realm  and  on  your  people  of  the 
same  realm  by  the  great  ferms  and  revenues  of  money  which 
from  year  to  year  forever  after  would  be  paid  in  from  the  posses- 
sions to  the  chief  houses  aforesaid  to  the  great  impoverishment 
of  your  same  realm  in  that  respect  which  God  forbid :  May  it 
please  your  very  noble  and  very  gracious  lordship  to  consider, 
that  at  the  commencement  of  the  said  war  between  the  said 
realms,  your  lieges,  of  all  the  possessions  which  they  then  had 
of  gifts  from  your  noble  progenitors  in  the  parts  abroad  within 
the  jurisdiction  of  France  by  judgment  rendered  in  that  same 
realm  were  forever  ousted  and  disherited.  And  therefore  to 
graciously  decree  in  this  parliament  with  the  assent  of  your  lords 
both  spiritual  and  temporal  that  all  the  possessions  of  the  alien 
priories  in  England  shall  remain  in  your  hands  to  you  and  to  your 
heirs  forever  to  the  intent  that  divine  services  in  the  places  afore- 
mentioned shall  be  more  duly  held  by  English  people  in  time  to 
come  than  they  have  been  before  this  time  in  these  places  by 
French  people.  Except  the  possessions  of  the  alien  conventual 
priors  and  of  the  priors  who  are  inducted  and  instituted.  And 


King  agrees  not  to  alter  the  Petitions         181 

except  all  the  alien  possessions  given  by  the  gracious  lord 
the  king  your  father  whom  God  assoil  to  the  master  and  college 
of  Fotheringay  and  to  his  successors  of  the  foundation  of  our 
said  lord  the  king  your  father  and  of  the  foundation  of  Edward 
duke  of  York,  any  peace  to  be  made  notwithstanding,  together 
with  all  kinds  of  franchises  and  liberties  granted  by  our  said 
lord  the  king  your  father  to  the  said  master  and  college  and  its 
successors  and  confirmed  by  you,  *  *  *  saving  the  services 
owing  to  the  lords  of  English  sees,  if  any  there  are,  notwithstand- 
ing that  the  same  grant  made  by  our  said  lord  the  king  your 
father  to  the  said  master  and  college  and  his  successors  should 
be  extended  only  during  the  war  between  your  very  sovereign 
lord  and  your  adversary  of  France,  and  saving  also  to  each  of 
your  lieges  as  well  spiritual  as  temporal  the  estate  and  posses- 
sion which  they  have  at  present  in  any  of  such  alien  possessions, 
purchased  or  to  purchase,  in  perpetuity  or  for  life  or  for  a  term 
of  years,  from  the  chief  religious  houses  abroad  by  the  licence  of 
our  lord  the  king  your  very  noble  father,  whom  God  assail, 
or  of  king  Edward  the  Third  your  great  grandfather,  or  of  king 
Richard  the  Second  since  the  conquest,  or  by  your  gracious  gift, 
grant,  confirmation  or  licence  had  at  present  in  such  case.  Pay- 
ing and  supporting  all  the  charges,  pensions,  annuities  and  pro- 
visions granted  to  any  of  your  lieges  by  you  or  by  any  of  your 
noble  progenitors  to  be  taken  from  the  possessions  or  alien 
priories  aforementioned. 

REPLY 

The  king  wills  it,  and  also  that  the  said  master  and  college  of 
Fotheringay  have  an  exemplification  of  the  king  under  his  great 
seal  of  the  present  petition  for  their  greatest  security  in  this 
respect  and  with  the  assent  of  the  lords  spiritual  and  temporal 
sitting  in  this  present  parliament. 


1 1 7.    King  agrees  not  to  alter  the  Petitions 
of  the  Commons 

(1414.     French  and  English  original,  4  R.  P.  22,  No.  22.    Translation 
by  Editors.     3  Stubbs,  84,  269.) 

ITEM,  be  it  remembered,  that  the  commons  delivered  to  the 
king  our  very  sovereign  lord,  in  this  present  parliament  a 
petition,  of  which  the  tenor  follows  word  for  word. 


1 82  English  Constitutional  Documents 

Our  sovereign  lord,  your  humble  and  true  lieges  that  have 
come  for  the  commons  of  your  land,  trusting  in  your  great  justice 
that  as  it  hath  been  ever  their  liberty  and  freedom  that  there 
should  no  statute  or  law  be  made  unless  they  gave  thereto  their 
assent,  considering  that  the  commons  of  your  land,  the  which  is 
and  ever  hath  been,  a  member  of  your  parliament,  have  been  as 
well  assenters  as  petitioners,  that  from  this  time  forth,  by  com- 
plaint of  the  commons  of  any  mischief,  asking  remedy  by  mouth 
of  their  speaker  for  the  commons  or  else  by  written  petition,  that 
there  never  be  any  law  made  thereupon  and  engrossed  as  statute 
and  law,  neither  by  addition  or  by  diminution,  by  no  manner  of 
term  or  terms,  the  which  should  change  the  sentence  and  the 
intent  asked  by  the  speaker  by  mouth,  or  the  petitions  aforesaid 
given  in  writing  by  the  manner  aforesaid,  without  the  assent  of 
the  foresaid  commons.  Considering  our  sovereign  lord  that  it 
is  not  in  any  wise  the  intent  of  your  commons  if  it  be  so  that 
they  ask  you  by  speaking  or  by  writing,  two  things  or  three  or 
as  many  as  pleases  them;  but  that  ever  it  stand  in  the  freedom 
of  your  Highness  to  grant  which  of  those  that  please  you  and  to 
refuse  the  rest. 

REPLY 

The  king  by  his  especial  grace  granteth  that  from  henceforth 
nothing  be  enacted  to  the  petitions  of  his  commons  that  be 
contrary  to  their  asking  whereby  they  should  be  bound  without 
their  assent;  saving  always  to  our  liege  lord  his  prerogative  to 
grant  and  deny  what  him  list  of  their  petitions  and  askings 
aforesaid. 


1 1 8.    Grant  of  a  Subsidy  and  Tunnage  and 
Poundage  for  Life 

(1415.     French  original,  4  R.  P.  63,  No.  5.     Translation  by  the  Editors. 
3  Stubbs,  88.) 

HTHE  commons  of  the  realm  assembled  in  this  present  parlia- 
J-  ment,  considering  that  the  king  our  sovereign  lord,  to  the 
honor  of  God  and  to  avoid  the  effusion  of  Christian  blood,  has 
made  to  his  adversary  of  France,  divers  requests  to  have  his 
heritage  returned  to  him,  according  to  right  and  justice,  and 
although  there  has  been  much  negotiation  as  well  on  this  side  of 
the  sea  as  on  the  other,  at  great  cost  to  our  sovereign  lord  the 


Grant  of  a  Subsidy  and  Tunnage  and  Poundage     183 

king;  nevertheless,  the  king  our  said  sovereign  lord,  has  not 
obtained  by  means  of  these  requests  and  negotiations  his  said 
heritage  nor  any  notable  parts  of  it.  And  therefore  the  king 
our  said  sovereign  lord  though  with  the  revenue  of  his  realm  and 
of  the  grant  of  the  subsidy,  granted  to  him  before,  he  did  not 
have  the  means  to  pursue  his  claim  by  way  of  deed,  nevertheless 
hoping  in  God  that  he  should  see  himself  sustained  and  supported 
in  his  just  quarrel,  our  said  lord  the  king  of  his  good  courage 
has  lately  undertaken  a  voyage  abroad,  pledging  his  jewels  to 
obtain  money  and  in  his  own  person  has  gone  and  arrived  before 
the  town  of  Harfleur  and  there  besieged  it  with  such  force  that 
he  has  taken  and  obtained  it  and  holds  it  at  present  and  to  guard 
the  same  city  he  has  placed  there  certain  lords  and  many  others, 
men  at  arms  and  archers,  to  his  great  cost  and  expense,  and  hav- 
ing made  such  ordinance  for  the  safeguard  of  the  said  town,  our 
said  lord  the  king  of  his  excellent  courage  with  few  people,  regard 
being  had  to  the  might  of  France,  went  from  the  town  of  Harfleur 
by  land  towards  the  marches  of  Calais,  where  on  his  road  many 
dukes,  counts  and  other  lords  with  the  might  of  the  realm  of  France 
in  very  great  numbers  met  and  fought  him  until  God  by  His  grace 
gave  the  victory  to  the  king  our  said  lord,  to  the  honor  and  exal- 
tation of  the  crown,  of  its  good  fame,  and  to  the  special  comfort 
of  his  loyal  lieges  and  to  the  fear  of  all  his  enemies  and  probably 
to  the  perpetual  profit  of  all  his  realm,  to  the  honor  and  rever- 
ence of  God,  and  for  the  great  affection  and  entire  love  that  the 
commons  of  the  realm  of  England  have  for  our  said  sovereign 
lord  the  king,  with  the  assent  of  the  lords  spiritual  and  temporal 
assembled  in  the  parliament  held  at  Westminster  the  Monday 
next  after  the  feast  of  All  Saints  the  year  of  the  reign  of  our  said 
sovereign  lord  the  king,  third,  grant  to  the  same  sovereign  lord 
the  king,  the  i2th  day  of  November,  in  the  same  parliament  for 
the  defence  of  the  realm,  the  subsidy  on  wool,  leather  and  wool- 
fells  to  be  raised  from  the  merchants  denizens,  for  the  subsidy  of 
each  sack  of  wool  43 s.  ^d.,  and  of  each  240  woolfells  43^.  4</.  and 
on  each  last  of  leather  IOO.T.  and  from  the  alien  merchants,  on 
each  sack  of  wool  6os.  and  on  each  240  woolfells,  6os.  and  on 
each  last  of  leather  io6j.  8</.  to  take  and  receive  from  the  feast 
of  St.  Michael  next  to  come  for  all  the  life  of  our  said  lord  the 
king  to  be  disposed  and  used  according  to  his  very  gracious  wish 
and  discretion,  for  the  defence  aforesaid,  provided  always  that 
no  grant  be  made  to  any  one  by  our  said  sovereign  lord  the  king 
by  his  letters  patent  for  life  or  for  a  term  of  years  of  the  subsidy 
aforementioned  nor  part  of  it.  And  if  any  such  grant  be  made 


184  English  Constitutional  Documents 

it  will  be  void  and  held  for  null  and  that  this  grant  be  not  taken 
as  an  example  by  the  kings  of  England  in  time  to  come. 

[There  follows  a  grant  of  tunnage  and  poundage  in  terms  nearly 
identical  with  those  of  No.  114,  but  for  the  king's  life.] 


119.    Government  during  the  Minority  of 
Henry  VI 

(1422.     Latin,  French,  and  English  original,  $R.  P.  174.    Translation  by 
Editors.     3  Stubbs,  100.  No.  33  illustrates  parliamentary  procedure.) 

24.  BE  it  remembered  that  on  the  twenty-seventh  day  of  this 
parliament,  the  tender  state  of  our  most  revered  lord  king  Henry 
the  Sixth  after  the  conquest  was  considered,  that  he  himself 
cannot  personally  decide  in  these  days  in  respect  to  the  pro- 
tection and  defence  of  his  English  realm  and  English  church. 
The  said  lord  king,  fully  confident  of  the  prudence  and  diligence 
of  his  very  dear  uncles,  John  duke  of  Bedford,  and  Humphrey 
duke  of  Gloucester,  and  with  the  assent  and  advice  of  the  lords 
spiritual  and  temporal,  in  the  present  parliament,  and  also  with 
the  assent  of  the  commons  of  the  English  realm  in  the  same  par- 
liament, has  ordained  and  appointed  his  said  uncle,  duke  of 
Bedford,  now  in  foreign  parts,  protector  and  defender  of  his 
realm  and  the  aforesaid  English  church  and  chief  counsellor  of 
his  lord  the  king  and  that  the  duke  shall  be  made  and  nominated 
protector  and  defender  of  his  realm  and  chief  counsellor  of  the 
king  himself  after  he  shall  have  returned  to  England  and  shall 
have  come  into  the  presence  of  the  aforesaid  lord  the  king  and 
from  that  time  as  long  as  he  shall  remain  in  the  said  realm  and 
as  long  as  it  shall  be  pleasing  to  our  said  lord  the  king.  And 
further,  our  lord  the  king,  with  the  aforesaid  assent  and  advice, 
has  ordained  and  appointed  in  the  absence  of  his  aforesaid  uncle 
the  duke  of  Bedford,  his  aforesaid  uncle  the  duke  of  Gloucester 
now  in  his  realm  of  England,  protector  and  defender  of  his  realm 
and  the  English  church  and  chief  counsellor  of  the  said  lord  the 
king;  and  that  the  same  duke  of  Gloucester  be  made  and  nomi- 
nated protector  and  defender  of  the  said  English  realm  and 
church  and  chief  counsellor  of  the  said  lord  the  king  as  long  as 
it  shall  be  pleasing  to  the  king;  *  *  * 


Government  during  Minority  of  Henry  VI      185 

25.  Be  it  remembered  that  when  our  lord  king  as  well  with  the 
assent  and  advice  of  the  lords  spiritual  and  temporal  as  with  the 
assent  of  the  commons  of  the  realm  of  England  in  the  present 
parliament,  by  his  letters  patent,  ordained  and  appointed  his 
very  dear  uncle  John  duke  of  Bedford,  now  in  foreign  parts,  pro- 
tector and  defender  of  the  said  realm  and  church  of  England, 
and  also  his  principal  counsellor,  *  *  *  and  also  in  like  manner 
the  said  lord  the  king,  with  the  aforesaid  assent  and  advice  had 
ordained  and  appointed  in  the  absence  of  his  very  dear  uncle, 
the  aforesaid  duke  of  Bedford,  Humphrey  duke  of  Gloucester, 
now  present  in  the  said  realm,  the  protector  and  defender  of  the 
aforesaid  realm  and  church,  and  his  principal  counsellor:  the 
aforesaid  lord  the  king,  considering  the  various  labors  which  it 
will  be  necessary  for  the  said  dukes  to  endure  on  the  occasions 
set  forth  above,  and  wishing  therefore  that  their  persons  be 
attended  with  honors  and  gracious  favors,  with  the  aforesaid 
assent  and  advice,  wills,  concedes  and  ordains,  that  the  said  duke 
of  Bedford,  as  often  and  whenever  he  shall  assume  the  aforesaid 
burden  and  shall  truly  take  it  upon  himself  and  occupy  himself 
with  it,  and  the  said  duke  of  Gloucester,  as  often  and  whenever 
he  himself  shall  take  upon  himself  and  shall  administer  that 
burden,  shall  be  able  when  the  offices  of  forester,  parker,  and 
keeper  of  the  warrens  are  vacant  in  the  realm  of  England  and 
the  parts  of  Wales,  pertaining  to  the  donation  of  the  said  lord  the 
king  as  of  his  crown,  to  dispose  of  these  offices  under  the  follow- 
ing form,  to  wit;  that  whenever  any  of  the  said  offices  shall  hap- 
pen to  be  vacant  in  the  future,  either  of  the  said  dukes  holding 
and  exercising  the  burden  of  the  business  of  protection  and 
defence,  shall  be  able  to  nominate  a  suitable  person  to  the  said 
office  and  under  his  signet,  as  custodian  of  the  private  seal  of  the 
said  lord  the  king,  for  the  time  being,  shall  be  able  to  certify  it; 
*  *  *  Item,  the  said  lord  king,  by  the  advice,  consent,  and  for 
the  cause  aforesaid,  has  willed,  granted  and  ordained  that  each 
of  the  aforesaid  dukes,  for  the  time  during  which  he  shall  hold 
and  exercise  the  burden  of  the  protection  and  defence  aforesaid, 
shall  be  able  to  nominate  suitable  persons  to  any  parish  churches 
from  the  value  of  twenty  marks  to  the  value  of  thirty  marks 
inclusive,  and  also  to  all  the  prebends  in  the  king's  chapels  in 
the  donation  of  the  lord  king,  under  the  right  of  the  crown, 
when  they  shall  be  vacant,  with  the  exception  of  the  deanships 
in  the  king's  chapels  of  this  sort,  *  *  *  Other  offices,  prebends, 
and  benefices  not  specified  above,  and  the  aforesaid  deanships, 
belonging  to  the  donation  or  presentation  of  the  lord  king,  are, 


1 86  English  Constitutional  Documents 

belong  and  appertain  to  the  disposition  of  the  said  lord  king, 
with  the  advice  of  the  said  protector  and  defender  for  the  time 
being  and  of  the  rest  of  the  lords  of  the  council  of  the  said  lord 
king,  from  time  to  time,  when  they  shall  be  vacant;  except  the 
benefices  whose  disposition  belongs  to  the  chancellor  of  England 
by  virtue  of  his  office  and  to  the  treasurer  of  England  by  virtue 
of  his  office. 

26.  Be  it  said,  that  after  the  king  our  sovereign  lord,  with 
the  assent  and  advice  of  the  lords  spiritual  and  temporal  in  this 
parliament  and  also  with  that  of  the  commons  of  England  assem- 
bled in  the  same,   had  ordered  and  constituted   the  powerful 
prince  Humphrey  duke  of  Gloucester  his  uncle,  protector  and 
defender  of  the  realm  and  church  of  England,  and  his  principal 
councillor  in  the  absence  of  the  excellent  prince  John  duke  of 
Bedford,  *  *  *  at  the  request  of  the  said  commons,  certain  per- 
sons of  estate  as  well  spiritual  as  temporal  were  with  the  advice 
and  assent  of  all  the  lords  aforesaid,  named  and  elected  as  coun- 
cillors assistant  to  the  government,  the  names  of  which  persons, 
written  in  a  small  schedule  and  read  openly  in  this  parliament, 
follow : 

The  duke  of  Gloucester,  the  archbishop  of  Canterbury,  the 
bishop  of  London,  the  bishop  of  Winchester,  the  bishop  of  Nor- 
wich, the  bishop  of  Worcester,  the  duke  of  Exeter,  the  earl  of 
March,  the  earl  of  Warwick,  the  earl  Marshall,  the  earl  of  North- 
umberland, the  earl  of  Westmoreland,  the  lord  Fitz  Hugh,  Ralph 
Cromwell,  Walter  Hungerford,  John  Tiptoft,  Walter  Beauchamp. 

27.  And  be  it  said   also,   that  the   same   persons  who  were 
named  and  elected  councillors  assistant,  since  that  nomination  and 
election  have  condescended  to  undertake  such  assistance  to  the 
government,  in  the  manner  and  form  contained  in  a  schedule  of 
paper  written  in  English,  containing  as  well  all  their  names,  as 
also  five  especial  articles  delivered  in  this  same  parliament,  by 
the  same  persons  named  councillors  assistant,  the  tenor  of  which 
schedule  follows. 

28.  The  which  lords  above  said  have  condescended  to  take  it 
upon  them  in  the  manner  and  form  that  follows.     First,  foras- 
much as  execution  of  law  and  keeping  of  the  peace  stand  much 
in  justices  of  the  peace,  sheriffs  and  escheators,  [and]  the  profits 
of  the  king  and  the  revenues  of  the  realm  be  greatly  increased 
or   reduced   to   nothing  by  customers,   comptrollers,   weighers, 
searchers  and  all  such  other  officers,  therefore  the  same  lords  will 
and  desire  that  such  officers  and  all  others  be  made  by  advice 
and  nomination  of  the  said  lords  saving  always  and  reserving  to 


Government  during  Minority  of*  Henry  VI      187 

my  lords  of  Bedford  and  of  Gloucester  all  that  belongeth  to  them 
by  a  special  act  made  in  parliament;  and  to  the  bishop  of  Win- 
chester what  hath  been  granted  him  by  our  sovereign  lord  that  last 
was,  on  whose  soul  God  have  mercy,  and  confirmed  by  authority 
of  parliament. 

29.  Item,  that  all  manner  of  wards,  marriages,  ferms  and  other 
incidents  that  belong  to  the  crown,  when  they  fall  in,  be  let, 
sold,  and  disposed  by  the  said  lords  of  the  council,  and  that 
indifferently  at  the  falling  in,  without  favor  or  any  manner  of 
partiality  or  fraud. 

30.  Item,  that  if  anything  be  done  or  enacted  by  council,  six, 
or  four  at  least,  officers  of  the  said  council  be  present;  and  in  all 
great  matters  that  shall  pass  by  council,  that  all  be  present  or  at 
any  rate  the  greater  part;  and  if  it  be  such  matter  that  the  king 
hath  been  accustomed  to  be  consulted  upon,  that  then  the  said 
lords  do  not  proceed  therein  without  the  advice  of  my  lords  of 
Bedford,  or  of  Gloucester. 

31.  Item,  forasmuch  as  the  two  chamberlains  of  the  exchequer, 
have  been  ordered  of  old  time  to  control  the  receipts  and  the 
payments  in  any  wise  made,  the  lords  desire,  that  the  treasurer  of 
England  for  the  time  being,  and  either  of  the  chamberlains,  have 
a  key  of  that  that  should  come  into  the  receipt,  and  that  they 
be  sworn  before  my  lord  of  Gloucester,  and  all  the  lords  of  the 
council,  that  for  no  friendship  shall  they  make  any  man  privy, 
but  the  lords  of  the  council,  to  what  the  king  hath  within  his 
treasury. 

32.  Item,  that  the  clerk  of  the  council  be  charged  and  sworn 
to  truly  enact,  and  write  daily,  the  names  of  all  the  lords  that 
are  present  from  time  to  time,  to  see  what,  how,  and  by  whom, 
anything  passeth. 

33.  And  thereupon,  the  said  articles  having  been  read  in  par- 
liament, before  the  aforementioned  lords,  and  well  understood  by 
them,  were  fully  assented  to  and  accorded  by  them;  the  said 
schedule  of  paper  was  by  certain  of  my  honorable  lords  of  parlia- 
ment on  the  part  of  the  king  and  all  the  lords  of  parliament  sent 
and  delivered  to  the  aforesaid  commons  in  order  to  be  informed 
of  their  intent  thereupon.     Whereupon  afterwards  the  said  com- 
mons apprised  of  this,  and  by  the  report  of  many  reverend  and 
honorable  lords  made  in  the  said  parliament,  on  the  part  of  the 
said  commons,  thanked  the  aforesaid  lords,  and  [voted]  that  they 
were  well  content  with  all  the  contents  of  the  said  schedule,  with 
this  that  to  the  first  article  of  the  said  five  articles  should  be 
added  a  clause,  as  a  proviso,  which  the  said  lords,  reporters  of 


1 88  English  Constitutional  Documents 

the  said  commons,  delivered  on  their  part  in  parliament,  in  a 
schedule  of  parchment  written  in  French,  and  the  tenor  of  which 
follows  here. 

Provided  always  that  the  lords  and  other  persons  and  officers, 
who  have  estate  and  authority,  either  by  inheritance  or  for  life 
or  otherwise,  to  make  and  constitute  by  virtue  of  their  offices, 
officers,  deputies  and  ministers,  which  belong  to  them  by  right, 
and  as  annexed  to  them  and  to  their  offices,  of  old  time  accus- 
tomed and  used,  shall  not  be  restrained  nor  prejudiced  in  that 
which  belongs  to  them,  by  color  of  this  ordinance  or  appointment. 

To  which  schedule  of  parchment  and  the  contents  of  the  same, 
read  before  the  said  lords  in  parliament,  were  the  same  lords 
agreed  and  fully  assented. 


120.    Definition  of  the  Powers  of  the  Duke 
of  Gloucester  as  Protector 

(1428.     English  original,  4  R.  P.  326,  No.   25.     3  Stubbs,  109.) 

HIGH  and  mighty  prince,  my  lord  of  Gloucester,  we  lords 
spiritual  and  temporal,  assembled  by  the  command  of  the 
king  our  sovereign  lord  in  this  his  present  parliament,  be  well 
remembered  how,  that  soon  after  the  beginning  of  this  parlia- 
ment, it  liked  you  to  move  unto  us  and  to  say,  that  you  were  the 
protector  and  defender  of  this  land,  and  so  named  and  called; 
willing  therefore  and  desiring  to  know  of  us,  what  authority  and 
power  belonged  to  you,  the  which  desire  you  likewise  repeated 
the  third  day  of  this  present  month  of  March,  saying  that  we  must 
well  consider  matters  of  parliament  in  your  absence,  but  that  we 
should  not  conclude  without  you;  affirming  also  that  you  would 
not  in  any  wise  come  into  the  house  accustomed  for  the  king  and 
the  lords  of  parliament,  until  the  time  that  you  knew  what  your 
authority  and  your  power  were  therein.  And  for  so  much  and 
to  the  end,  that  you  have  no  cause  to  absent  yourself  from  this 
said  parliament  for  lack  of  our  answer  to  your  said  desire,  we 
lords  abovesaid  call  to  mind,  how  that  in  the  first  parliament 
held  by  the  king  our  sovereign  lord  that  now  is,  at  Westminster, 
you  desired  to  have  had  the  government  of  this  land,  affirming 
that  it  belonged  to  you  by  right,  as  well  as  by  means  of  your 
birth,  as  by  the  last  will  of  the  king  that  was,  your  brother,  whom 
God  assoil,  alleging  for  you  such  grounds  and  motives  as  it  was 


Definition  of  Powers  of  Duke  of  Gloucester     189 

thought  in  your  discretion  made  for  your  intent.  Whereupon 
the  lords  spiritual  and  temporal  assembled  in  parliament,  among 
whom  were  your  uncles,  the  bishop  of  Winchester  who  now  liveth, 
and  the  duke  of  Exeter,  and  your  cousin  earl  of  March  that  are 
gone  to  God,  and  of  Warwick,  and  others  in  great  number  that 
now  live,  had  great  and  long  deliberation  and  advice,  searched 
precedents  of  the  government  of  the  land  in  similar  times  and 
cases,  when  kings  of  this  land  have  been  of  tender  age,  took  also 
information  of  the  laws  of  the  land,  of  such  persons  as  are  not- 
ably learned  therein,  and  finally  found  your  said  desire  not  caused 
nor  grounded  in  precedent,  nor  in  the  law  of  the  land;  the 
which  the  king  that  is  dead  might  not  in  his  life,  nor  by  his  last 
will  nor  otherwise  alter,  change  nor  abrogate,  without  the  assent 
of  the  three  estates,  nor  commit  or  grant  to  any  person,  govern- 
ment or  rule  of  this  land  longer  than  he  lived;  but  on  the  other 
hand,  the  said  lords  found  your  said  desire  not  according  with 
the  laws  of  this  land,  and  against  the  right  and  freedom  of  the 
estates  of  the  same  land.  How  be  it,  be  it  not  thought,  that  any 
such  thing  wittingly  proceeded  of  your  intent.  And  nevertheless 
to  keep  peace  and  tranquility,  and  to  the  intent  to  ease  and 
appease  you,  it  was  advised  and  appointed  by  the  authority  of  the 
king,  the  three  estates  of  this  land  assenting  that  you  in  the 
absence  of  my  lord,  your  brother  of  Bedford,  should  be  chief  of 
the  king's  council,  and  devised  therefore  unto  you  a  name  dif- 
ferent from  the  other  councillors,  not  the  name  of  tutor,  lieu- 
tenant, governor,  nor  of  regent  nor  any  name  that  should  import 
authority  of  government  of  the  land,  but  the  name  of  protector 
and  defender,  the  which  importeth  a  personal  duty  of  attendance 
to  the  actual  defence  of  the  land,  as  well  against  enemies  without, 
if  the  case  required,  as  against  rebels  within  if  any  there  should 
be,  which  God  forbid;  granting  you  therewith  certain  power, 
which  is  specified  and  contained  in  an  act  of  the  said  parlia- 
ment, to  endure  as  long  as  it  pleaseth  the  king.  In  which  if  the 
intent  of  the  said  estates  had  been,  that  you  should  have  had  more 
power  or  authority,  more  would  have  been  expressed  therein;  to 
which  appointment,  ordinance  and  act,  you  thereto  agreed  as 
for  your  person,  making  nevertheless  protestation,  that  it  was  not 
your  intent  in  any  wise  to  derogate  or  do  prejudice  unto  my 
lord  your  brother  of  Bedford  by  your  said  agreement,  as  toward 
any  right  that  he  would  pretend  or  claim  in  the  government  of 
this  land,  and  as  toward  any  pre-eminence  that  you  might  have 
or  belong  to  you  as  chief  of  the  council,  it  is  plainly  declared 
in  the  said  acts  and  articles,  subscribed  by  my  said  lord  of  Bed 


190          English  Constitutional  Documents 

ford,  by  yourself,  and  the  other  lords  of  the  council.  But  as  in 
parliament  to  which  you  are  called  upon  your  faith  and  allegiance 
as  duke  of  Gloucester,  as  other  lords  are  and  not  otherwise,  we 
know  no  power  nor  authority  that  you  have,  other  than  you  as 
duke  of  Gloucester  should  have,  the  king  being  in  parliament,  at 
years  of  most  discretion;  we  marvelling  with  all  our  hearts,  that 
considering  the  open  declaration  of  authority  and  power  belong- 
ing to  my  lord  of  Bedford,  and  to  you  in  his  absence,  and  also 
to  the  king's  council,  subscribed  purely  and  simply  by  my  said 
lord  of  Bedford,  and  by  you,  that  you  should  in  any  wise  be 
stirred  or  moved  not  to  content  you  therewith,  or  to  pretend  you 
any  other :  especially  considering  that  the  king,  blessed  be  our 
Lord,  is  since  the  time  of  the  said  power  granted  unto  you,  much 
advanced  and  grown  in  person,  in  wit  and  understanding,  and 
likely  with  the  grace  of  God  to  occupy  his  own  royal  power  within 
a  few  years.  And  forasmuch  considering  the  things  and  causes 
above  said,  and  many  others  that  would  be  too  long  to  write,  we 
lords  aforesaid,  pray,  exhort  and  require  you,  to  content  you  with 
the  power  abovesaid  and  declared,  with  which  my  lord  your  brother 
of  Bedford,  the  king's  eldest  uncle,  contented  him;  and  that  you 
do  not  desire,  will  nor  use  any  larger  power :  giving  you  this  that 
is  above  written,  for  our  answer  to  your  aforesaid  demand,  which 
we  will  dwell  and  abide  with,  without  variance  or  change.  *  *  * 


121.    Electors  of  Knights  of  the  Shire  must 
be  Forty  Shilling  Freeholders 

(1429.     French  text  and  translations,  2  5".  R.  243.    3  Stubbs,  114,  265.) 


7.  ITEM,  whereas  the  elections  of  knights  of  shires  chosen 
to  come  to  the  parliaments  of  the  king,  in  many  counties  of 
England,  have  now  of  late  been  made  by  very  great,  and  exces- 
sive number  of  people  dwelling  within  the  same  counties  of  the 
which  most  part  was  by  people  of  small  substance,  or  of  no 
value,  whereof  every  of  them  pretended  a  voice  equivalent,  as 
to  such  elections  to  be  made,  with  the  most  worthy  knights  and 
esquires  dwelling  within  the  same  counties;  whereby  man- 
slaughters, riots,  batteries,  and  divisions  among  the  gentlemen 
and  other  people  of  the  same  counties,  shall  very  likely  rise  and 


Larke's  Case:  Privileges  of  Member's  Servants     191 

be,  unless  convenient  remedy  be  provided  in  this  behalf:  our 
lord  the  king,  considering  the  premises,  hath  provided,  and 
ordained  by  authority  of  this  present  parliament,  that  the  knights 
of  the  shires  to  be  chosen  within  the  same  realm  of  England  to 
come  to  the  parliaments  hereafter  to  be  holden,  shall  be  chosen 
in  every  county,  by  people  dwelling  and  resident  in  the  same, 
whereof  every  one  of  them  shall  have  free  tenement  to  the  value 
of  forty  shillings  by  the  year  at  the  least  above  all  charges;  and 
that  they  which  shall  be  so  chosen  shall  be  dwelling  and  resident 
within  the  same  counties;  and  such  as  have  the  greatest  number 
of  them  that  may  expend  forty  shillings  by  year  and  above,  as 
afore  is  said,  shall  be  returned  by  the  sheriffs  of  every  county, 
knights  for  the  parliament,  by  indentures  sealed  betwixt  the  said 
sheriffs  and  the  said  choosers  so  to  be  made;  and  every  sheriff 
of  England  shall  have  power,  by  the  said  authority,  to  examine 
upon  the  holy  evangelists  every  such  chooser,  how  much  he  may 
expend  by  the  year :  and  if  any  sheriff  return  knights  to  come  to 
the  parliament  contrary  to  this  ordinance,  that  the  justices  of 
assizes  in  their  sessions  of  assizes  shall  have  power  by  the  authority 
aforesaid,  thereof  to  inquire;  and  if  by  inquest  the  same  be  found 
before  the  same  justices,  and  the  sheriff  thereof  be  duly  attainted, 
that  then  the  said  sheriff  shall  incur  the  pain  of  an  hundred 
pounds  to  be  paid  to  our  lord  the  king,  and  also  that  he  have 
imprisonment  by  a  year,  without  being  let  to  bail  or  mainprise; 
and  that  the  knights  for  the  parliament  returned  contrary  to  the 
said  ordinance  shall  lose  their  wages.  Provided  always,  that  he 
which  cannot  expend  forty  shillings  by  year  as  afore  is  said  shall 
in  no  wise  be  chooser  of  the  knights  for  the  parliament;  and  that 
in  every  writ  that  shall  hereafter  go  forth  to  the  sheriffs  to  choose 
knights  for  the  parliament,  mention  be  made  of  the  said 
ordinances. 


122.    Larke's  Case:    Privileges  of  Member's 
Servants 

(1429.     French  original,  4  K.  P.  357,  No.  57.    Translation  by  Editors. 
3  Stubbs,  514.) 

THE  commons  pray  that  as  one  William  Larke,  servant  to 
Wm.  Milrede,  coming  to  your  court  of  the  present  parlia- 
ment for  the  city  of  London,  in  the  service  of  the  said  Wm. 


192  English  Constitutional   Documents 

Milrede  then  sitting,  through  the  subtle  imagination  and  con- 
jecture of  one  Margery  Janyns  was  arrested  in  the  court  of 
pipoudrez  of  the  abbot  of  Westminster,  by  his  officers  there,  and 
removed  from  there  to  your  common  bench  by  writ  of  corpus 
cum  causa  at  the  suit  of  the  said  Margery,  and  by  the  justices  of 
your  said  bench  commanded  to  Fleet  prison  and  there  detained 
in  prison  till  the  present,  by  the  force  of  a  judgment  given 
against  the  said  Wm.  Larke  in  your  said  bench  by  your  said  jus- 
tices, both  because  the  said  Wm.  Larke  was  condemned  at  the 
suit  of  the  said  Margery  in  your  said  bench  in  an  action  of  tres- 
pass, to  the  damage  of  208^  6s.  8d.  before  the  day  of  the  sum- 
moning of  this  present  parliament,  and  for  fine  to  make  to  you 
because  the  trespasser  was  found  with  force  and  arms.  May  it 
please  Your  Royal  Majesty  to  consider  that  the  said  Wm.  Larke, 
at  the  time  of  the  said  arrest,  was  in  the  service  of  the  said  Wm. 
Milrede,  supposing  truly  by  the  privilege  of  your  court  of  par- 
liament to  be  free  of  all  arrest  during  your  said  court,  except  for 
treason,  felony  or  surety  of  the  peace ;  to  order  by  the  authority 
of  the  same  parliament,  that  the  said  Wm.  Larke  may  be  deliv- 
ered out  of  your  said  prison  of  Fleet,  the  said  condemnation, 
judgment  and  execution  or  anything  depending  hereupon  against 
him  or  upon  him  notwithstanding.  Saving  at  all  times  to  the 
said  Margery  and  to  her  executors,  their  execution  outside  of 
the  said  judgment  against  the  said  Wm.  Larke,  after  the  end  of 
the  said  parliament,  and  also  to  grant,  by  the  authority  afore- 
mentioned, that  no  one  of  your  said  lieges,  that  is  to  say,  lords, 
knights  from  your  counties,  citizens,  burgesses,  in  your  parlia- 
ments to  come,  their  servants  or  familiars,  be  at  all  arrested  nor 
detained  in  prison  during  the  time  of  your  parliament,  except  for 
treason,  felony,  or  surety  of  the  peace  as  was  said  before. 

RESPONSE 

The  king,  by  the  advice  of  the  lords  spiritual  and  temporal  and 
at  the  special  request  of  the  commons,  sitting  in  this  present 
parliament,  and  also  with  the  consent  of  the  counsel  of  Margery 
Janyns  named  in  this  petition,  wills  and  grants  by  the  authority 
of  the  said  parliament,  that  Wm.  Larke  named  in  the  said  peti- 
tion, be  delivered  immediately  out  of  Fleet  prison.  And  that 
the  said  Margery,  after  the  end  of  this  parliament,  have  her  exe- 
cution of  the  judgment  which  she  has  against  the  said  William, 
in  the  common  bench,  as  it  is  contained  in  the  same  petition, 
in  the  same  form  that  it  should  have  had  if  the  said  judgment 


Act  against  Smuggling  193 

had  never  been  executed.  And  that  the  judges  of  the  said  bench 
give  to  the  said  Margery,  after  the  end  of  this  parliament,  exe- 
cution of  the  said  judgment,  by  capias  ad  satisfaciendum,  and  by 
exigent;  and  likewise  issue  processes  from  our  lord  the  king,  for 
his  fine  regarding  the  said  William,  by  capias  and  exigent,  as 
they  should  have  done,  if  the  said  William  had  never  been  taken 
nor  imprisoned,  by  cause  of  the  said  judgment.  And  besides 
the  king  wills,  by  the  authority  of  the  same  parliament,  that  the 
chancellor  of  England  for  the  time  being,  from  the  end  of  the 
said  parliament,  make  commissions  to  different  persons  assigned 
at  discretion,  to  take  the  said  William  and  to  deliver  him  to  the 
keeper  of  the  Fleet,  who  is  held  to  receive  and  guard  him,  until 
satisfaction  shall  be  given  to  the  aforesaid  Margery,  of  the  sum 
to  recover  from  him  by  the  aforementioned  judgment,  and 
to  the  king,  of  that  which  belongs  to  him  in  the  case.  And  that 
the  said  deliverance  to  the  said  keeper,  have  the  same  effect  for 
the  said  Margery,  as  would  execution  for  her  made  by  capias  ad 
satisfaciendum,  any  variance  through  the  said  petition  or  the 
indorsement  of  the  same,  and  the  record  of  the  same  recovery, 
or  any  other  thing  notwithstanding,  and  as  to  the  rest  of  the 
petition :  the  king  will  consider. 


123.    Act  against  Smuggling 

(1437.     French  text  and  translation,  2  S.  R.  294.) 


8.  ITEM,  our  sovereign  lord  the  king,  to  remove  and  eschew 
the  great  unlawfulness  and  damage,  which  daily  is  to  him  done, 
in  withholding  the  customs  and  subsidies,  and  to  the  staple 
of  Calais  in  hindering  of  the  sale  of  wool  and  woolfells,  by 
such  which  do  ship  their  wools  and  woolfells  in  divers  secret 
ports  and  creeks,  and  other  suspect  places  within  this  realm, 
stealing,  bringing,  and  carrying  away  the  same,  not  customed 
to  divers  parts  beyond  the  sea,  and  not  to  Calais;  hath  or- 
dained by  the  authority  aforesaid,  that  from  henceforth  no 
manner  of  person  shall  ship  nor  cause  to  be  shipped  wools,  wool- 
fells,  nor  other  merchandises  pertaining  to  the  staple,  in  no  place 
within  this  realm,  but  all  only  at  the  keys  and  wharfs  being  in 
the  ports  assigned  by  statute,  where  the  kings  weights  and  his 
beam  be  set.  And  that  every  master  of  the  ships  and  vessels,  in 


194  English  Constitutional  Documents 

the  which  such  wool  and  woolfells  and  merchandises  be  put,  shall 
find  sufficient  surety  to  the  customers  of  the  ports,  where  they  do 
ship,  to  carry  the  said  wool  and  woolfells  and  merchandises  to 
the  staple  of  Calais,  and  to  bring  a  certification  from  thence,  that 
he  hath  so  done.  Saving  always  to  the  merchants  of  Genoa, 
Venice,  Tuscany,  Lombardy,  Florence,  and  Catalonia,  and  to 
the  burgesses  of  Berwick,  the  liberties  to  them  granted  by  statute 
heretofore. 


124.    Against    Abuse    in    Appointment    of 
Justices  of  the  Peace 

(1439.     French  text  and  translation,  2  S.  R.  309.) 


ii.  ITEM,  whereas  by  statutes  made  in  the  time  of  the  king's 
noble  progenitors,  it  was  ordained,  that  in  every  county  of  Eng- 
land justices  should  be  assigned  of  the  most  worthy  of  the  same 
counties,  to  keep  the  peace,  and  to  do  other  things,  as  in  the 
same  statutes  fully  is  contained;  which  statutes  notwithstanding, 
now  of  late  in  many  counties  of  England,  a  greater  number  have 
been  deputed  and  assigned,  than  before  this  time  were  wont  to 
be,  whereof  some  be  of  small  substance,  by  whom  the  people  will 
not  be  governed  nor  ruled,  and  some  for  their  necessity  do  great 
extortion  and  oppression  upon  the  people,  whereof  great  incon- 
veniences be  likely  to  rise  daily  if  the  king  thereof  do  not  provide 
remedy :  the  king  willing  against  such  inconveniences  to  provide 
remedy,  hath  ordained  and  established,  by  authority  aforesaid, 
that  no  justice  of  peace  within  the  realm  of  England,  in  any 
county,  shall  be  assigned  or  deputed,  if  he  have  not  lands  and 
tenements  to  the  value  of  XX  pounds  by  year;  and  if  any  be 
ordained  hereafter  to  be  justice  of  peace  in  any  county,  which 
hath  not  lands  and  tenements  to  the  value  aforesaid,  that  he  thereof 
shall  notify  the  chancellor  of  England  for  the  time  being,  which 
shall  put  another  sufficient  in  his  place;  and  if  he  give  not  the 
said  notification  as  before,  within  a  month  after  that  he  hath 
notice  of  such  commission,  or  if  he  sit,  or  make  any  warrant  or 
precept  by  force  of  such  commission,  he  shall  incur  the  penalty 
of  XX  pounds  and  nevertheless  be  put  out  of  the  commission  as 
before  and  the  king  shall  have  one  half  of  the  said  penalty,  and 
he  that  will  sue  for  the  king,  the  other  half;  and  he  that  will  so 
sue  for  the  king,  and  for  himself,  shall  have  an  action  to  demand 


Attainder  of  John  Cade  195 

the  same  penalty  by  writ  of  debt  at  the  common  law.  Provided 
always,  that  this  ordinance  shall  not  extend  to  cities,  towns,  or 
boroughs,  which  be  counties  incorporate  of  themselves;  nor  to 
cities,  towns,  or  boroughs  which  have  justices  of  peace  of  persons 
dwelling  in  the  same  by  commission  or  grant  of  the  king,  or  of 
his  progenitors :  provided  also,  that  if  there  be  not  sufficient  per- 
sons having  lands  and  tenements  to  the  value  aforesaid,  learned 
in  the  law,  and  of  good  governance,  within  any  such  county,  that 
the  chancellor  of  England  for  the  time  being  shall  have  power  to 
put  other  discreet  persons  learned  in  the  law,  in  such  commis.- 
sions,  though  they  have  not  lands  and  tenements  to  the  value 
aforesaid,  by  his  discretion. 


125.    Qualifications  of  Knights  of  the  Shire 

(1445.     French  text  and  translation,  2  S.  R.  342.     3  Stubbs,  265,  427.) 


14.  *  *  *  So  that  the  knights  of  the  shire  for  the  parliament 
thereafter  to  be  chosen,  shall  be  notable  knights  of  the  same 
counties  for  the  which  they  shall  so  be  chosen,  or  otherwise  such 
notable  esquires,  gentlemen  of  birth  of  the  same  counties,  as 
shall  be  able  to  be  knights;  and  no  man  to  be  such  knight  which 
standeth  in  the  degree  of  a  yeoman  and  under. 


126.    Attainder  of  John  Cade 

(1450.     French  text  and  translation,  2  S.  R.  357.) 


i.  FIRST,  whereas  the  false  traitor  John  Cade,  naming  himself 
John  Mortimer,  late  called  Captain  of  Kent,  the  viii  day  of 
July,  the  xxviii  year  of  the  reign  of  our  said  sovereign  lord  the 
king  at  Southwark,  in  the  county  of  Surrey,  and  the  ix  day  of 
July,  the  aforesaid  year  at  Dertford  and  Rochester  in  the  county 
of  Kent,  also  at  the  town  of  Rochester  aforesaid,  and  elsewhere, 
the  x  and  xi  day  of  July  then  next  ensuing,  within  the  realm  of 
England,  falsely  and  traitorously  imagined  the  king's  death, 


196  English  Constitutional   Documents 

destruction  and  subversion  of  this  realm,  in  gathering  and  levying 
a  great  number  of  the  king's  people,  and  them  exciting  to  make 
insurrection  against  the  king,  falsely  and  traitorously  in  the  places 
aforesaid,  and  at  the  times  before  recited,  against  the  king's 
royalty,  crown,  and  dignity;  and  there  and  then  made  and  levied 
war  falsely  and  traitorously  against  the  king  and  his  highness; 
and  howbeit  though  he  be  dead  and  mischieved,  yet  by  the  law 
of  the  land  not  punished :  our  said  sovereign  lord  the  king  con- 
sidering the  premises,  to  put  such  traitors  in  doubt  so  to  do  in 
time  coming,  and  for  salvation  of  himself  and  of  his  realm,  by 
advice  of  his  lords  spiritual  and  temporal  in  the  said  parliament 
assembled,  and  at  the  request  of  his  commons,  hath  ordained  by 
the  authority  of  the  said  parliament,  that  he  shall  be  of  these 
treasons  attainted;  and  that  by  the  same  authority  he  shall  forfeit 
to  the  king  all  his  goods,  lands  and  tenements,  rents  and  posses- 
sions, which  he  had  the  said  eighth  day  of  July,  or  after,  and  his 
blood  corrupt,  and  disabled  forever,  and  to  be  called  a  false 
traitor  within  the  said  realm  forever. 


127.    Privilege  of  Members  from  Arrest: 
Clerk's  Case 

(1460.     Latin  and  English  original,  5  R.  P.  374.     Translation  by  Editors. 
3  Stubbs,  515.) 

9.  ITEM,  a  certain  other  petition  was  presented  to  our  said 
lord  the  king,  in  the  said  parliament,  through  the  said  commons, 
according  to  the  tenor  which  follows : 

To  the  king  our  sovereign  lord,  pray  the  commons,  forasmuch 
that  great  delay  hath  been  in  this  parliament,  by  this  that  Walter 
Clerk,  burgess  of  Chippenham  in  the  shire  of  Wiltes,  which  came 
by  your  high  commandment  to  this  your  present  parliament,  and 
attended  to  the  same  in  the  house  for  the  commons  accustomed, 
the  freedom  of  which  commons  so  called,  hath  ever  afore  this 
time  been  and  ought  to  be,  that  the  same  commons  have  free 
coming,  going,  and  their  abiding;  against  which  freedom,  the 
said  Walter  was,  after  his  said  coming,  and  during  this  your  pres- 
ent parliament,  arrested  at  your  suit,  for  a  fine  to  be  made  to 
your  Highness,  and  imprisoned  in  the  counter  of  London,  and 
from  thence  removed  into  your  exchequer,  and  then  committed 


Privilege  of  Members  from  Arrest  197 

into  your  prison  of  Fleet,  as  well  for  xl  pounds  in  which  he  was 
condemned  to  your  Highness,  and  also  for  xx  marks,  in  which 
he  was  condemned  to  Robert  Basset,  in  an  action  of  trespass, 
and  also  for  xx  pounds  in  which  he  was  condemned  to  John 
Payne,  in  an  action  of  maintenance,  and  for  the  fines  due  to  your 
Highness  in  the  same  condemnation;  and  since  that  committing, 
the  said  Walter  was  outlawed  at  the  suit  of  the  said  John  Payne, 
and  for  that  and  other  premises,  in  the  same  prison  of  Fleet  is 
retained,  against  the  liberties  and  freedoms  used,  had  and  enjoyed 
afore  this  time  by  your  said  commons. 

Please  it  your  Highness,  in  eschewing  the  said  delay  caused 
by  the  premises,  by  the  advice  and  assent  of  the  lords  spiritual 
and  temporal  in  this  present  parliament  assembled,  and  by 
authority  of  the  same,  to  ordain  and  establish,  that  your  chan- 
cellor of  England  have  power  to  direct  your  writ  or  writs,  to  the 
warden  of  the  said  prison  of  Fleet,  commanding  him  by  the 
same,  to  have  the  said  Walter  before  him  without  delay,  and 
then  to  dismiss  him  at  large,  and  to  discharge  the  said  warden  of 
him,  of  and  for  every  of  the  premises,  so  that  the  said  Walter 
may  attend  daily  of  this  your  parliament,  as  his  duty  is  to  do. 
And  that  by  the  said  authority,  neither  your  said  chancellor,  war- 
den of  Fleet,  nor  any  other  person  nor  persons,  in  any  wise  be 
hurt,  endamaged  nor  grieved,  because  of  the  said  dismissing  at 
large  of  the  said  Walter.  Saving  alway,  as  well  to  you,  sovereign 
lord,  your  execution  of  your  said  xl  pounds,  and  of  your  said  fine, 
and  all  your  other  interest  in  that  party,  as  to  the  said  Robert 
Basset,  and  John  Payne,  and  each  of  them,  their  execution  in  the 
premises,  after  the  dissolving  of  this  your  present  parliament,  the 
said  arrest  of  the  said  Walter,  and  the  said  committing  and  pris- 
oning of  him  to  ward  notwithstanding,  as  fully  and  effectually, 
as  if  the  same  Walter  at  any  time  for  any  of  the  premises  never 
had  been  arrested,  nor  committed  to  ward.  Saving  also  to  your 
said  commons  called  now  to  this  your  parliament,  and  their  suc- 
cessors, their  whole  liberties,  franchises  and  privileges,  in  as 
ample  form  and  manner,  as  your  said  commons  at  any  time  before 
this  day  have  had,  used  and  enjoyed,  and  ought  to  have,  use  and 
enjoy,  this  present  act  and  petition  in  any  wise  notwithstanding. 

Which  said  petition  having  been  read,  heard,  and  fully  under- 
stood in  the  said  parliament,  by  the  advice  and  assent  of  the 
lords  spiritual  and  temporal  being  in  the  said  parliament,  and  at 
the  request  of  the  said  commons,  response  was  made  to  the  same 
in  the  following  form :  The  king  wills  it. 


198          English  Constitutional  Documents 

128.    Recognition  of  the  Duke  of  York  as 
Heir  to  the  Throne 

(1460.     English  original,  5  R.  P.  375.     3  Stubbs,  190.) 

10.  MEMORANDUM,  that  the  xvi  day  of  October,  the  ix  day  of 
this  present  parliament,  the  council  of  the  right  high  and  mighty 
prince  Richard  duke  of  York,  brought  into  the  parliament  cham- 
ber a  writing,  containing  the  claim  and  title  of  the  right,  that  the 
said  duke  pretended  unto  the  crowns  of  England  and  of  France, 
and  lordship  of  Ireland,  and  the  same  writing  delivered  to  the 
right  reverend  father  in  God  George  bishop  of  Exeter,  chancel- 
lor of  England,  desiring  him  that  the  same  writing  might  be 
opened  to  the  lords  spiritual  and  temporal  assembled  in  this 
present  parliament,  and  that  the  said  duke  might  have  brief  and 
expedient  answer  thereof :  whereupon  the  said  chancellor  opened 
and  showed  the  said  desire  to  the  lords  spiritual  and  temporal, 
asking  the  question  of  them,  whether  they  would  the  said  writing 
should  be  openly  read  before  them  or  no.  To  the  which  question 
it  was  answered  and  agreed  by  all  the  said  lords:  inasmuch  as 
every  person  high  and  low,  suing  to  this  high  court  of  parliament, 
of  right  must  be  heard,  and  his  desire  and  petition  under- 
stood, that  the  said  writing  should  be  read  and  heard,  not  to  be 
answered  without  the  king's  commandment,  forasmuch  as  the 
matter  is  so  high,  and  of  so  great  weight  and  poise  Which 
writing  there  then  was  read;  the  tenor  whereof  followeth,  in 
these  words: 

1 8.  Item,  the  Saturday,  the  xvii  day  of  this  present  parlia- 
ment, it  was  showed  unto  the  lords  spiritual  and  temporal  being 
in  this  present  parliament,  by  the  mouth  of  the  said  chancellor, 
that  the  said  duke  of  York  called  busily  to  have  hasty  and  speedy 
answer  of  such  matters  as  touched  his  title  abovesaid;  and  how 
that  forasmuch  as  it  is  thought  by  all  the  lords,  that  the  title  of 
the  said  duke  cannot  be  defeated,  and  eschewing  of  the  great 
inconveniencies  that  may  ensue,  a  means  was  found  to  save  the 
king's  honor  and  estate,  and  to  appease  the  said  duke,  if  he 
would;  which  is  this:  that  the  king  shall  keep  the  crowns,  and 
his  estate  and  royal  dignity,  during  his  life;  and  the  said  duke 
and  his  heirs  to  succeed  him  in  the  same :  exhorting  and  stirring 
all  the  said  lords,  that  if  any  of  them  could  find  any  other  or 
better  means,  that  it  might  be  showed.  Whereupon,  sad  and 


Recognition  of  the  Duke  of  York  195, 

ripe  communication  in  this  matter  had,  it  was  concluded  and 
agreed  by  all  the  said  lords;  that  since  it  was  so,  that  the  title 
of  the  said  duke  of  York  cannot  be  defeated,  and  in  eschewing 
the  great  inconveniencies  that  might  ensue,  to  take  the  means 
above  rehearsed,  the  oaths  that  the  said  lords  had  made  unto  the 
king's  Highness  at  Coventry,  and  other  places  saved,  and  their 
consciences  therein  cleared.  And  over  that,  it  was  agreed  by 
the  said  lords,  that  the  said  means  should  be  opened  and  declared 
to  the  king's  Highness.  And  forthwith  they  went  to  the  king, 
where  he  was  in  his  chamber  within  his  palace  of  Westminster. 
And  in  their  going  out  of  the  parliament  chamber,  the  said  chan- 
cellor asked  of  the  said  lords,  that  since  it  was  so,  that  the  said 
means  should  be  opened  by  his  mouth  to  the  king's  good  grace, 
if  they  would  abide  by  him  howsoever  that  the  king  took  the 
matter;  and  they  all  answered  and  said  yea. 

All  these  premises  thus  showed  and-opened  to  the  king's  High- 
ness, he,  inspired  with  the  grace  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  in 
eschewing  of  effusion  of  Christian  blood,  by  good  and  sad  delib- 
eration and  advice  had  with  all  his  lords  spiritual  and  temporal, 
condescended  to  accord  to  be  made  between  him  and  the  said 
duke,  and  to  be  authorized  by  the  authority  of  this  present  par- 
liament. The  tenor  of  which  accord  hereafter  ensueth,  in 
manner  and  form  following : 

19.  Blessed  be  Jesus,  in  whose  hand  and  bounty  resteth  and 
is  the  peace  and  unity  betwixt  princes,  and  the  weal  of  every 
realm,  through  whose  direction  agreed  it  is,  appointed  and 
accorded  as  followeth,  betwixt  the  most  high  and  most  mighty 
prince  King  Henry  the  Sixth,  king  of  England  and  of  France, 
and  lord  of  Ireland,  on  the  one  part,  and  the  right  high  and 
mighty  prince  Richard  Plantagenet  duke  of  York,  on  the  other 
part,  upon  certain  matters  of  variance  moved  betwixt  them,  and 
in  especial  upon  the  claim  and  title  unto  the  crowns  of  England 
and  of  France,  and  royal  power,  estate,  and  dignity,  appertain- 
ing to  the  same,  and  lordship  of  Ireland,  opened,  showed  and 
declared  by  the  said  duke,  before  all  the  lords  spiritual  and  tem- 
poral being  in  this  present  parliament:  the  said  agreement,  ap- 
pointment and  accord,  to  be  authorized  by  the  same  parliament. 


20.  The  said  title  nevertheless  notwithstanding,  and  without 
prejudice  of  the  same,  the  said  Richard  duke  of  York,  tenderly 
desiring  the  weal,  rest  and  prosperity  of  this  land,  and  to  set 
apart  all  that  might  be  trouble  to  the  same;  and  considering  the 


2oo          English  Constitutional  Documents 

possession  of  the  said  king  Henry  the  Sixth,  and  that  he  hath  foi 
his  time  been  named,  taken  and  reputed  king  of  England  and  of 
France,  and  lord  of  Ireland;  is  content,  agreed  and  consenteth, 
that  he  be  had,  reputed  and  taken,  king  of  England  and  of 
France,  with  the  royal  estate,  dignity  and  pre-eminence  belong- 
ing thereto,  and  lord  of  Ireland,  during  his  life  natural;  and  for 
that  time,  the  said  duke  without  hurt  or  prejudice  of  his  said 
right  and  title,  shall  take,  worship  and  honor  him  for  his 
sovereign  lord. 

21.  Item,  the  said  Richard  duke  of  York,  shall  promise  and 
bind  him  by  his  solemn  oath,  in  manner  and  form  as  followeth : 

In  the  name  of  God,  Amen.  I  Richard  duke  of  York,  promise 
and  swear  by  the  faith  and  truth  that  I  owe  to  almighty  God,  that 
I  shall  never  do,  consent,  procure  or  stir,  directly  or  indirectly, 
privily  or  openly,  nor  as  much  as  in  me  is  and  shall  be,  suffer  to 
be  done,  consented,  procured  or  stirred,  anything  that  may  be 
or  tend  to  the  abridgement  of  the  natural  life  of  king  Henry  the 
Sixth,  or  to  the  hurt  or  diminishing  of  his  reign  or  royal  dignity, 
by  violence  or  any  other  wise,  against  his  freedom  and  liberty; 
but  that  if  any  person  or  persons,  would  do  or  presume  anything 
to  the  contrary,  I  shall  with  all  my  power  and  might  withstand 
it,  and  make  it  to  be  withstood  as  far  as  my  power  will  stretch 
thereunto;  so  help  me  God,  and  these  holy  evangelists. 

Item,  Edward  earl  of  March,  and  Edmund  earl  of  Rutland,  the 
sons  of  the  said  Richard  duke  of  York,  shall  make  like  oath. 

22.  Item,  it  is  accorded,  appointed  and  agreed,  that  the  said 
Richard  duke  of  York,  enjoy,  be  entitled,  called  and  reputed 
from  henceforth,  very  and  rightful  heir  to  the  crowns,   royal 
estate,  dignity  and  lordship  abovesaid;  and  after  the  discease  of 
the  said  king  Henry,  or  when  he  will  lay  from  him  the  said 
crowns,  estate,  dignity  and  lordship,  the  said  duke  and  his  heirs, 
shall   immediately  succeed  to   the   said  crowns,   royal   estate, 
dignity  and  lordship. 


24.  Item,  if  any  person  or  persons,  imagine  or  compass  the 
death  of  the  said  duke,  and  thereof  proveably  be  attaint  of  open 
deed  done  by  folks  of  their  condition,  that  it  be  deemed  and 
adjudged  high  treason. 

25.  Item,  for  the  more  establishing  of  the  said  accord,  it  is 
appointed  and  consented,  that  the  lords  spiritual    and  temporal 
being  in  this  present  parliament,   shall  make  oaths  to  accept, 
take,  worship  and  repute,  the  said  Richard  duke  of  York,  and 


Recognition  of  the  Duke  of  York          201 

his  said  heirs,  as  above  is  rehearsed;  and  keep,  observe  and 
strengthen  as  much  as  appertaineth  unto  them,  all  the  things 
abovesaid,  and  resist  to  their  power  all  them  that  will  presume 
the  contrary,  according  to  their  estates  and  degrees. 

26.  Item,  the  said  Richard  duke  of  York,  earls  of  March  and 
Rutland,  shall  promise  and  make  oath,  to  help,  aid  and  defend 
the  said  lords,  and  every  of  them,  against  all  those  that  will 
quarrel,  or  anything  attempt  against  the  said  lords,  or  any  of 
them ;  by  occasion  of  agreement  or  consenting  to  the  said  accord, 
or  assistance  giving  to  the  said  duke  and  earls,  or  any  of  them. 

Item,  it  is  agreed  and  appointed,  that  this  accord,  and  every 
article  hereof,  be  opened  and  notified  by  the  king's  letters  patents 
or  otherwise,  at  such  times  and  places,  and  in  manner,  as  it  shall 
be  thought  expedient  to  the  said  Richard  duke  of  York,  with  the 
advice  of  the  lords  of  the  king's  council. 

27.  The  king,  understanding  certainly  the  said  title  of  the 
said  Richard  duke  of  York,  just,  lawful,  true  and  sufficient,  by 
the  advice  and  assent  of  the  lords  spiritual  and  temporal,  and 
commons,  in  this  parliament  assembled,  and  by  authority  of  the 
same  parliament,  declareth,  approveth,  ratifieth,  confirmeth  and 
accepteth  the  said  title,  just,  good,  lawful  and  true,  and  there- 
unto giveth  his  assent  and  agreement,  of  his  free  will  and  libeny. 
And  over  that,  by  the  said  advice  and  authority  declareth,  entitl- 
eth,  calleth,  established,  affirmeth  and  reputeth  the  said  Richard 
duke  of  York,  very,  true  and  rightful  heir  to  the  crowns,  royal 
estate,  and  dignity  of  the  realms  of  England  and  of  France,  and 
of  the  lordship  of  Ireland  aforesaid;  and  that  according  to  the 
worship  and   reverence   that  thereto  belongeth,   he  be  taken, 
accepted  and  reputed,  in  worship  and  reverence,  by  all  the  estates 
of  the  said  realm  of  England,  and  of  all  his  subjects  hereof :  sav- 
ing and  ordaining  by  the  same  authority,  the  king  to  have  the 
said  crowns,  realms,  royal  estate,  dignity  and  pre-eminence  of 
the  same,  and  the  said  lordship  of  Ireland,  during  his  life  natural. 
And  furthermore,  by  the  same  advice  and  authority,  willeth,  con- 
senteth  and  agreeth,  that  after  his  discease,  or  when  it  shall  please 
his  Highness  to  lay  from  him  the  said  crowns,  estate,  dignity 
and  lordship,  or  thereof  ceaseth :  the  said  Richard  duke  of  York 
and  his  heirs,  shall  immediately  succeed  him  in  the  said  crowns, 
royal  estate,  dignity  and  lordship,  and  them  then  have  and  enjoy, 
any  act  of  parliament,  statute,  ordinance,  or  other  thing  to  the 
contrary  made,  or  interruption  or  discontinuance  of  possession, 
notwithstanding.     And  moreover,   by  the  said  advice  and  au- 
thority,  stablisheth,    granteth,   confirmeth,    approveth,    ratifieth 


2O2  English  Constitutional  Documents 

and  accepteth  the  said  accord,  and  all  things  therein  contained, 
and  thereunto  freely  and  absolutely  assenteth  and  agreeth. 

And  by  the  same  advice  and  authority,  ordaineth  and  establish- 
eth,  that  if  any  person  or  persons,  imagine  or  compass  the  death 
of  the  said  duke,  and  thereof  proveably  be  attaint  of  open  deed 
done  by  folks  of  their  condition,  that  it  be  deemed  and  adjudged 
high  treason. 

28.  And  furthermore  ordaineth,  granteth  and  stablisheth,  by 
the  said  advice  and  authority,  that  all  statutes,  ordinances  and 
acts  of  parliament,  made  in  the  time  of  the  said  king  Henry  the 
Fourth,  by  the  which  he  and  the  heirs  of  his  body  coming,  or 
Henry  late  king  of  England  the  Fifth,  the  son  and  heir  of  the 
said  king  Henry  the  Fourth,  and  the  heirs  of  the  body  of  the 
same  king  Henry  the  Fifth  coming,  were  or  be  inheritable  to 
the  said  crowns  and  realms,  or  to  the  heritage  or  enheritement 
of  the  same,  be  annulled,  repelled,  revoked,  dampned,  cancelled, 
void,  and  of  no  force  or  effect :  *  *  * 


129.    Act  declaring  Valid  Acts  of  Lancastrian 
Kings 

(1461.     French  text  and  translation,  2  S.  R.  380.     3  Stubbs,  2OI.) 

EDWARD,  by  the  grace  of  God  king  of  England  and  of 
France,  and  lord  of  Ireland,  the  fourth  after  the  conquest : 
to  the  honor  of  God  and  of  Holy  Church,  to  nourish  peace,  unity, 
and  concord  within  his  realm  of  England,  which  he  most  entirely 
desireth,  by  the  advice  and  assent  of  the  lords  spiritual  and 
temporal  of  the  same  realm,  and  at  the  special  request  of  the 
commons  of  his  said  realm  come  and  assembled  at  his  first  par- 
liament holden  at  Westminster  upon  the  fourth  day  of  Novem- 
ber, in  the  first  year  of  his  reign,  and  by  authority  of  the  same 
parliament,  hath  caused  to  be  ordained  and  established  certain 
statutes,  declarations,  and  ordinances,  in  manner  and  form 
following. 

i.  First,  that  in  eschewing  of  ambiguities,  doubts,  and  diver- 
sities of  opinions,  which  may  rise,  ensue,  or  be  taken  of  and  upon 
acts  judicial,  and  exemplifications  of  the  same,  made  or  had  in 
the  time  or  times  of  Henry  the  Fourth,  Henry  the  Fifth  his  son, 
and  Henry  the  Sixth  his  son,  late  kings  of  England  successively, 


Act  declaring  Valid  Acts  of  Lancastrian  Kings     203 

in  deed  and  not  of  right;  our  said  lord  the  king,  by  the  advice 
and  assent  of  the  lords  spiritual  and  temporal,  and  at  the  request 
of  the  said  commons  in  the  said  parliament  assembled,  and  by 
authority  of  the  same,  hath  declared,  established,  and  enacted 
in  the  said  parliament,  that  all  fines,  and  final  concords,  levied 
or  made  of  any  lands,  tenements,  possessions,  rents,  inheritances, 
or  other  things,  and  all  acts  judicial,  recoveries,  and  processes, 
determined  or  commenced,  not  revoked,  reversed  nor  annulled, 
made  or  had  in  any  court  or  courts  of  record,  or  any  court  or 
courts  holden  in  any  of  the  times  of  the  pretensed  reigns  of  any 
of  the  said  late  kings,  in  deed  and  not  in  right,  other  than  by 
authority  of  any  parliament  holden  in  any  of  their  times,  and 
exemplifications  of  the  said  fines,  acts  judicial,  and  recoveries, 
out  of  any  of  the  said  parliaments,  and  every  of  them,  shall  be  of 
all  such  force,  virtue,  and  effect,  as  if  the  said  fines,  final  con- 
cords, acts,  recoveries,  processes,  and  other  the  premises,  had  or 
made  out  of  any  of  the  said  parliaments,  and  exemplifications  of 
the  same,  had  been  commenced,  sued,  had  or  determined  in  the 
time  of  any  king  lawfully  reigning  in  this  realm,  and  obtaining 
the  crown  of  the  same  by  just  title. 

And  also  that  all  letters  patents  made  by  any  of  the  pretensed 
kings  to  any  person  or  persons,  of  creation,  insignicion  or  erec- 
tion of  any  of  them,  to  any  estate,  dignity  or  pre-eminence,  shall 
be  to  the  said  person  or  persons,  and  to  such  of  their  heirs  which 
be  contained  in  the  same  letters  patents,  of  such  force,  avail  and 
effect,  as  touching  such  creation,  insignicion  or  erection,  as  if 
the  same  letters  patents  had  been  made  or  granted  to  any  of  them 
by  any  king  lawfully  reigning  in  this  realm  and  obtaining  the 
crown  of  the  same  by  just  title;  and  that  they  being  so  created, 
insigned  or  erected,  shall  have  new  grants  of  the  king  of  their 
annuities  for  the  maintenance  of  their  estates,  as  hath  been  of 
old  time  accustomed ;  except  such  persons,  and  every  of  them, 
whom  our  sovereign  lord  the  king  reputeth  and  holdeth  for  his 
rebels  or  enemies. 


204  English  Constitutional  Documents 


130.    Treaty  of  Commerce  with  Burgundy 

(November,  1467.  French  original,  II  Rymer,  592-594,  598.  Trans- 
lation by  Editors.  This  treaty  was  renewed  with  some  modifications  12 
July,  1478,  2  January,  1487,  and  24  February,  1496  (12  Rymer,  578). 
This  last  is  known  as  the  Intercursus  Magnus.} 

FIRST,  that  all  merchants  as  well  of  the  realm  of  England,  of 
Ireland,  and  of  Calais,  as  the  merchants  of  the  duchy, 
county  and  country  of  Brabant,  of  Flanders,  the  town  and  lord- 
ship of  Mechlin  and  the  other  countries  of  our  said  cousin  the 
duke,  be  they  merchants  of  wools,  leathers,  of  provisions  or  of 
any  other  merchandise,  their  factors  and  servants  shall  be  able  to 
travel  securely  by  land,  on  foot,  on  horseback  or  otherwise  and 
in  passing  in  and  beyond  the  waters  of  Gravelines  and  of 
Calais  to  Brabant,  Flanders,  Mechlin  and  other  countries  above 
mentioned,  and  from  Brabant,  Flanders,  Mechlin  and  the  other 
countries  above  mentioned  to  Calais,  together  with  the  goods  and 
merchandise,  to  take  their  way  between  the  sea  and  the  castles 
of  Mark  and  of  Oye  and  to  trade  one  with  the  other  in  all  kinds 
of  merchandise,  provisions  and  other  things,  *  *  *  except  armor, 
artillery,  cannon,  powder,  and  other  things  made  similarly  and 
for  hostile  purposes. 

And  that  the  said  merchants,  their  factors  and  servants  shall  be 
able,  each  of  them  to  whom  it  shall  be  necessary,  to  buy  and  to 
have  provisions  freely  of  those  of  the  other  part,  and  to  carry 
them  by  land  in  and  beyond  the  waters  aforesaid,  one  to  the 
other;  that  is  to  say,  those  of  England  and  the  rest  of  the  coun- 
try of  England  (by  which  we  mean  Ireland  and  Calais)  in  to 
Flanders  to  Mechlin,  and  the  other  aforesaid  countries;  and 
those  of  Brabant,  of  Flanders,  of  Mechlin  and  aforesaid  coun- 
tries to  Calais;  to  travel  by  the  way  aforesaid,  without  any  hin- 
drance, disturbance  or  prohibition  whatsoever,  for  this  cause 
neither  incurring  any  penalty  nor  being  held  to  blame  in  any 
manner  by  the  lords  of  one  part  or  the  other  or  by  their  justices, 
officers  or  subjects. 

Item,  that  all  merchants  of  England,  Ireland  and  Calais,  be 
they  merchants  of  wools,  leathers,  of  provisions  or  -of  any  other 
merchandise  whatsoever,  their  factors  and  servants,  masters  of 
ships  and  sailors,  shall  be  able  to  travel  by  sea,  to  pass,  to  repass, 
to  hold  intercourse  with,  to  enter,  be,  and  dwell  safely  in  the 
said  duchy,  county,  and  countries  of  Brabant,  Flanders,  the  lord- 


Treaty  of  Commerce  with  Burgundy        205 

ship  and  town  of  Mechlin,  and  the  other  countries  aforesaid,  and 
within  the  ports  and  harbors  of  the  same  with  all  their  goods, 
merchandise,  and  ships,  and  to  trade  with  all  the  merchants  of 
Brabant,  of  Flanders,  and  of  Mechlin,  and  of  all  the  said  coun- 
tries and  whatsoever  other  merchants,  their  factors  and  servants 
in  all  kinds  of  merchandise,  as  well  foods  as  other  kinds  (except 
armor  *  *  *  for  hostile  purposes)  and  to  depart  with  their  said 
ships,  goods,  merchandise,  and  whatsoever  else,  being  able  to 
bring  them  back  and  to  return  in  safety : 

And  that  likewise  all  merchants  of  the  said  countries  and  lord- 
ships of  Brabant,  Flanders,  Mechlin,  and  other  aforesaid  coun- 
tries, be  they  merchants  of  wools  *  *  *  shall  be  able  *  *  *  to 
dwell  securely  in  the  kingdom  of  England,  in  Ireland,  and  in 
Calais  and  within  the  ports  and  harbors  of  the  same  kingdom, 
country,  and  town,  authorized  by  the  king  (that  is  to  say,  in  the 
ports  and  harbors  where  customs  officials  and  other  officers  are 
ordered  to  watch  and  wait  for  the  entrance  and  exit  of  ships  and 
merchandise,  and  not  in  others)  with  their  goods  and  merchan- 
dise and  ships  and  to  trade  with  all  the  English  merchants  and 
others  and  their  factors  and  servants  in  all  kinds  of  merchandise, 
as  well  foods  as  other  kinds  (except  the  said  armor  *  *  *)  and 
to  carry  into  the  aforesaid  ports  in  England,  Ireland  and  Calais 
their  own  goods,  provisions  and  others,  and  the  goods  of  the 
other  aforesaid  countries  and  lordships  of  Brabant,  of  Flanders, 
of  Mechlin  and  the  other  aforesaid  places,  and  to  depart  and 
return  safely  with  all  their  said  goods,  merchandise  and  ships : 

And  also  that  the  said  merchants,  their  factors  and  servants 
shall  be  able,  each  of  them  to  whom  it  shall  be  necessary,  to  buy 
and  to  have  provisions  freely  of  those  of  the  other  country  and 
to  carry  them  by  sea  one  to  the  other  *  *  *  without  being  held 
to  blame  because  they  have  so  done,  by  the  lords  of  one  side  or 
the  other,  nor  by  their  officers;  nor  shall  harm  be  done,  or  hin- 
drance or  disturbance  made,  by  those  of  the  part  of  England  to 
the  merchants  of  Brabant,  Flanders,  Mechlin,  and  aforesaid 
places,  nor  also  by  those  of  the  aforesaid  parts  of  Brabant, 
Flanders,  Mechlin  and  other  countries  aforesaid  to  the  mer- 
chants of  the  countries  of  England  by  violence,  by  reason  of  war 
and  pillage,  made  or  to  be  made,  nor  otherwise  in  any  way  for 
whatsoever  cause;  respecting  and  paying,  as  regards  the  mer- 
chants of  England,  of  Ireland  and  of  Calais,  in  the  countries  of 
Brabant,  Flanders,  Mechlin,  and  other  aforesaid  countries  for 
the  merchandise  which  they  shall  carry  over  and  bring  back;  and 
likewise  as  regards  the  merchants  of  Brabant,  Flanders,  Mechlin, 


206  English  Constitutional  Documents 

and  aforesaid  countries  in  the  said  realm  and  countries  of  Eng- 
land, Ireland  and  Calais,  for  the  merchandise  which  they  shall 
carry  over  there  and  bring  back,  the  customs,  tolls,  and  duties 
due  and  customary  when  merchandise  has  had  course  in  time  past 
between  the  realms  and  countries  aforesaid  included  in  present 
agreement,  without  being  constrained  to  other  duties. 

And  in  respect  to  the  merchants  of  one  side  or  the  other, 
touching  the  merchandise  which  they  shall  bring  over  and  carry 
back  each  on  his  part,  they  shall  pay  the  tolls  and  duties  at  the 
ordinance  of  their  prince  and  lord  according  to  that  which  is 
customary  in  their  country. 

And  by  this  it  is  not  intended  to  prejudice  the  prince  or  lord 
of  one  country  or  another  from  levying  in  those  countries  and 
lordships  such  tolls  and  duties,  with  respect  to  his  subjects,  as 
shall  seem  good  to  him. 

Except  this,  that  the  said  merchants,  of  one  side  or  the  other, 
their  factors  and  servants,  masters  of  ships  and  sailors,  to  whom 
it  shall  be  lawful  to  have  with  them  in  their  ships  armor  and 
artillery,  for  the  preservation  and  safety  of  themselves  and  their 
goods,  in  travelling  by  sea,  and  to  take  the  same  with  them  into 
whatsoever  ports  at  which  they  arrive,  shall  upon  leaving  their 
said  ships  leave  behind  such  armor  in  their  said  ships  or  vessels; 
except  knives,  a  dagger,  or  a  sword,  which  they  shall  be  able  to 
carry,  if  it  seem  good  to  them,  to  their  inns,  where  they  shall  be 
bound  to  leave  their  said  swords. 

At  all  times,  the  prince  of  one  part  or  the  other  shall  be  able, 
for  a  reasonable  cause,  such  as  the  need  or  high  price  of  food, 
to  make  restriction  as  regards  such  kinds  of  food  as  shall  seem 
necessary  to  him  for  his  own  welfare  and  that  of  his  subjects,  this 
present  agreement  not  preventing. 

And  if  it  should  happen  that  any  ships,  by  the  fortune  .of  the 
sea  or  the  pursuit  of  enemies,  should  be  constrained  to  take  refuge 
in  any  ports  or  harbors  in  England  which  are  not  authorized  as 
has  been  said,  in  such  a  case  they  shall  be  able  to  be  and 
enter  safely  in  the  said  ports  and  harbors,  without  being  able 
(being  at  the  said  harbors  and  ports)  to  lade,  to  stow,  or  to 
unlade  any  commodities,  foods,  merchandise,  or  other  things. 

Item,  that  the  said  merchants  of  England,  their  factors  and 
servants,  masters  of  ships  and  sailors,  shall  be  able  to  hold  inter- 
course with  and  dwell  securely  in  the  countries  of  Brabant, 
Flanders,  Mechlin,  and  the  aforesaid  countries,  and  in  the  ports 
and  harbors  of  the  same  countries,  with  their  goods,  ships,  and 
any  merchandises  whatsoever,  provisions  and  other  things. 


Confirmation  of  Richard's  Title  207 

And  likewise  the  merchants  of  Brabant,  Flanders,  Mechlin, 
and  the  other  countries  aforesaid  and  their  factors  and  servants, 
masters  of  ships  and  sailors  shall  be  able  to  be,  to  hold  inter- 
course with,  and  to  dwell  safely  in  the  kingdom  of  England,  in 
Ireland,  and  at  Calais,  and  in  the  ports  and  harbors  of  England, 
Ireland,  and  Calais  aforesaid,  without  any  misdeed  being  done  or 
any  hindrance  or  disturbance  made  by  those  of  Brabant,  Flanders, 
Mechlin  and  the  aforesaid  places  nor  by  any  others  whatsoever 
(of  whatsoever  nation  or  country  they  may  be)  to  the  merchants 
of  the  country  of  England  nor  by  those  of  that  country  of  Eng- 
land or  any  others  whatsoever  to  the  merchants  of  Brabant, 
Flanders,  Mechlin  and  the  aforesaid  countries,  nor  to  their  fac- 
tors, servants,  masters  of  ships,  and  sailors,  of  one  part  or  the 
other,  by  violence,  by  reason  of  war,  pillage,  or  robbery  done  or 
to  be  done,  nor  otherwise  in  any  manner;  provided  that  the  mer- 
chants of  any  other  country  whatsoever  be  safe  with  all  their 
goods  and  ships  at  the  said  countries  of  Brabant,  Flanders, 
Mechlin,  and  other  aforesaid  countries,  and  in  the  ports  and 
harbors  of  the  said  countries  of  Flanders,  without  any  misdeed 
done  or  hindrance  or  disturbance  made  to  them  by  those  of  the 
part  of  England;  nor  damage  done  or  hindrance  made  in  body 
or  goods  or  in  any  possible  manner  by  those  of  the  other  said 
countries  to  those  of  the  part  of  England,  their  factors,  servants, 
and  goods,  being  in  the  said  countries  of  Brabant,  Flanders,  the 
lordship  and  town  of  Mechlin,  and  in  the  other  countries  above- 
named,  and  in  the  ports  and  harbors  of  the  same :  *  *  * 

Given  in  the  city  of  Brussels,  the  twenty-fourth  day  of  Novem- 
ber, the  year  of  grace  one  thousand  four  hundred  and  sixty- 
seven. 


131.    Confirmation  of  Richard's  Title 

(1484.     English  original,  6  R.  P.  241.     3  Stubbs,  235.) 


"DESIDES  this  we  consider,  how  that  ye  be  the  undoubted  son 
-D  an(j  heir  of  Richard  late  duke  of  York,  very  inheritor  to  the  said 
crown  and  dignity  royal,  and  as  in  right  king  of  England,  by  way 
of  inheritance;  and  that  at  this  time,  the  premises  duly  consid- 
ered, there  is  none  other  person  living  but  ye  only,  that  by  right 
may  claim  the  said  crown  and  dignity  royal,  by  way  of  inheri- 


208  English  Constitutional  Documents 

tance,  and  how  that  ye  be  born  within  this  land;  by  reason 
whereof,  as  we  deem  in  our  minds,  ye  be  more  naturally  inclined 
to  the  prosperity  and  commonweal  of  the  same;  and  all  the  three 
estates  of  the  land  have,  and  may  have,  more  certain  knowledge 
of  your  birth  and  filiation  abovesaid.  We  consider  also,  the 
great  wit,  prudence,  justice,  princely  courage,  and  the  memo- 
rable and  laudable  acts  in  divers  battles,  which  we  by  experi- 
ence know  ye  heretofore  have  done,  for  the  salvation  and  defense 
of  this  same  realm;  and  also  the  great  noblesse  and  excellence  of 
your  birth  and  blood,  as  of  him  that  is  descended  of  the  three 
most  royal  houses  in  Christendom,  that  is  to  say,  England, 
France,  and  Spain. 

Wherefore,  these  premises  by  us  diligently  considered,  we 
desiring  effectually  the  peace,  tranquility,  and  public  weal  of 
this  land,  and  the  reduction  of  the  same  to  the  ancient  honorable 
estate  and  prosperity,  and  having  in  your  great  prudence,  justice, 
princely  courage,  and  excellent  virtue,  singular  confidence,  have 
chosen  in  all  that  that  in  us  is,  and  by  this  our  writing  choose 
you,  high  and  mighty  prince,  into  our  king  and  sovereign  lord 
&c.,  to  whom  we  know  for  certain  it  appertaineth  of  inheritance 
so  to  be  chosen.  And  hereupon  we  humbly  desire,  pray,  and  re- 
quire your  said  noble  grace,  that  according  to  this  election  of  us  the 
three  estates  of  this  land,  as  by  your  true  inheritance,  ye  will 
accept  and  take  upon  you  the  said  crown  and  royal  dignity,  with 
all  things  thereunto  annexed  and  appertaining,  as  to  you  of  right 
belonging,  as  well  by  inheritance  as  by  lawful  election :  and,  in 
case  you  so  do,  we  promise  to  serve  and  to  assist  your  Highness,  as 
true  and  faithful  subjects  and  liegemen,  and  to  live  and  die  with 
you  in  this  matter,  and  every  other  just  quarrel.  For  certainly 
we  be  determined,  rather  to  aventure  and  commit  us  to  the  peril 
of  our  lives  and  jeopardy  of  death,  than  to  live  in  such  thraldom 
and  bondage  as  we  have  lived  long  time  heretofore,  oppressed 
and  injured  by  extortions  and  new  impositions,  against  the  laws 
of  God  and  man,  and  the  liberty,  old  police,  and  laws  of  this 
realm,  wherein  every  Englishman  is  inherited.  Our  Lord  God, 
King  of  all  kings,  by  whose  infinite  goodness  and  eternal  provi- 
dence all  things  be  principally  governed  in  this  world,  lighten 
your  soul,  and  grant  you  grace  to  do,  as  well  in  this  matter  as  in 
all  other,  all  that  that  may  be  according  to  his  will  and  pleasure, 
and  to  the  common  and  public  weal  of  this  land;  so  that,  after 
great  clouds,  troubles,  storms  and  tempests,  the  sun  of  justice 
and  of  grace  may  shine  upon  us,  to  the  comfort  and  gladness  of 
all  true  Englishmen. 


Confirmation  of  Richard's  Title  209 

Albeit  that  the  right,  title,  and  estate,  which  our  sovereign  lord 
the  king  Richard  the  Third,  hath  to  and  in  the  crown  and  royal 
dignity  of  this  realm  of  England, with  all  things  thereunto  within 
the  same  realm,  and  without  it,  united,  annexed  and  appertaining, 
be  just  and  lawful,  as  grounded  upon  the  laws  of  God  and  of 
nature,  and  also  upon  the  ancient  laws  and  laudable  customs  of 
this  said  realm,  and  so  taken  and  reputed  by  all  such  persons 
as  are  learned  in  the  abovesaid  laws  and  customs.  Yet  neverthe- 
less, forasmuch  as  it  is  considered,  that  the  most  part  of  the 
people  of  this  land  is  not  sufficiently  learned  in  the  abovesaid  laws 
and  customs,  whereby  the  truth  and  right  in  this  behalf  of  likeli- 
hood may  be  hid,  and  not  clearly  known  to  all  the  people,  and 
thereupon  put  in  doubt  and  question.  And  besides  this,  how  that 
the  court  of  parliament  is  of  such  authority,  and  the  people  of 
this  land  of  such  nature  and  disposition,  as  experience  teacheth, 
that  manifestation  and  declaration  of  any  truth  or  right,  made 
by  the  three  estates  of  this  realm  assembled  in  parliament,  and 
by  authority  of  the  same,  maketh,  before  all  other  things,  most 
faith  and  certainty;  and,  quieting  men's  minds,  removeth  the 
occasion  of  all  doubts  and  seditious  language.  Therefore,  at  the 
request,  and  by  assent  of  the  three  estates  of  this  realm,  that  is 
to  say,  the  lords  spiritual  and  temporal,  and  commons  of  this 
land,  assembled  in  this  present  parliament,  by  authority  of  the 
same,  be  it  pronounced,  decreed,  and  declared,  that  our  said 
sovereign  lord  the  king  was,  and  is,  very  and  undoubted  king 
of  this  realm  of  England,  with  all  things  thereunto  within  the 
same  realm,  and  without  it,  united,  annexed  and  appertaining, 
as  well  by  right  of  consanguinity  and  inheritance,  as  by  lawful 
election,  consecration,  and  coronation.  And  besides  this,  that, 
at  the  request,  and  by  the  assent  and  authority  abovesaid,  be  it 
ordained,  enacted  and  established,  that  the  said  crown  and  royal 
dignity  of  this  realm,  and  the  inheritance  of  the  same,  and  other 
things  thereunto  within  this  same  realm,  or  without  it,  united, 
annexed,  and  now  appertaining,  rest  and  abide  in  the  person  of 
our  said  sovereign  lord  the  king,  during  his  life,  and,  after  his 
discease,  in  his  heirs  of  his  body  begotten.  And  in  especial,  at 
the  request,  and  by  assent  and  authority  abovesaid,  be  it  or- 
dained, enacted,  established,  pronounced,  decreed,  and  declared, 
that  the  high  and  excellent  prince  Edward,  son  of  our  said  sov- 
ereign lord  the  king,  be  heir  apparent  of  the  same  our  sovereign 
lord  the  king,  to  succeed  to  him  in  the  abovesaid  crown  and 
royal  dignity,  with  all  things  as  is  aforesaid  thereunto  united, 
annexed  and  appertaining;  to  have  them  after  the  discease  of 


2io          English  Constitutional  Documents 

our  said  sovereign  lord  the  king,  to  him  and  to  his  heirs  of  his 
body  lawfully  begotten. 


132.  Grant  of  Subsidy 

(1484.     English  original,  6  R.  P.  238.     3  Stubbs,  236.) 

SO  the  worship  of  God.  We  your  poor  commons  by  your  high 
commandment  come  to  this  your  present  parliament,  for  the 
shires,  cities  and  boroughs  of  this  your  noble  realm,  by  the  assent 
of  all  the  lords  spiritual  and  temporal  in  this  your  present  parlia- 
ment assembled,  grant  by  this  present  indenture  to  you,  our 
sovereign  lord,  for  the  defense  of  this  your  said  realm,  and  in 
especial  for  the  safeguard  and  keeping  of  the  sea,  a  subsidy 
called  tonnage,  to  be  taken  in  manner  and  form  following;  that 
is  to  say,  1 1 1  shillings  of  every  ton  of  wine  coming  into  this  your 
said  realm,  and  of  every  ton  of  sweet  wine  coming  into  the  same 
your  realm,  by  any  foreign  merchant,  as  well  by  the  merchants  of 
Hanse  and  of  Almain,  as  of  any  other  foreign  merchant,  iii  shill- 
ings, over  the  said  in  shillings  afore  granted:  to  have  and  to 
perceive  yearly  the  said  subsidy,  from  the  first  day  of  this  present 
parliament,  for  term  of  your  natural  life.  And  over  that,  we 
your  said  commons,  by  the  assent  aforesaid,  grant  to  you,  our 
said  sovereign  lord,  for  the  safeguard  and  keeping  of  the  sea, 
another  subsidy  called  poundage;  that  is  to  say,  of  all  manner 
merchandises  of  every  merchant  denizen  and  alien,  as  well  of  the 
merchants  of  Hanse  and  of  Almain,  as  of  any  other  foreign 
merchant,  carried  out  of  this  your  said  realm  or  brought  into  the 
same  byway  of  merchandise,  of  the  value  of  every  KKS.,  xii^. ; 
except  tin,  whereof  the  merchants  strangers  to  pay  for  subsidy, 
of  the  value  of  every  xxs.,  us.;  and  the  merchants  denizens, 
xii//. ;  and  all  such  manner  merchandises  of  every  merchant  deni- 
zen, to  be  valued  after  that  they  cost  at  the  first  buying  or  achate, 
by  their  oaths,  or  of  their  servants  buyers  of  the  said  merchan- 
dises in  their  absence,  or  by  their  letters,  the  which  the  same 
merchants  have  of  such  buying  from  their  factors;  all  manner  of 
woolen  cloth  made  and  wrought  within  this  your  realm,  by  any 
merchant  denizen  not  born  alien,  to  be  carried  out  of  the  same 
realm  within  the  time  of  this  grant,  all  manner  wools,  woolfells 
and  hides,  going  out  of  the  same,  and  every  manner  of  corn, 


Grant  of  Subsidy  21 1 

flour,  all  manner  of  fresh  fish,  bestial,  and  wine,  into  this  your 
realm  coming,  ale,  and  all  manner  victual  going  out  of  this  your 
said  realm  for  the  victualing  of  your  town  of  Calais,  and  of  the 
marches  there  under  your  obeyance,  out  of  this  grant  always 
except :  to  have  and  to  receive  yearly  the  said  subsidy  of  pound- 
age, from  the  said  first  day  of  this  present  parliament,  during 
your  natural  life;  except  afore  except.  And  if  any  concealment 
be  found  in  the  merchants  of  the  duty  aforesaid,  that  they  for 
such  concealment  pay  thereof  only  the  double  subsidy,  without 
any  other  hurt  of  forfeiture  in  that  behalf;  and  that  these  grants 
be  not  taken  in  ensample  to  the  kings  of  England  in  time  to  come. 
And  that  it  may  please  your  Highness,  that  as  well  merchants 
denizens,  as  strangers,  coming  into  this  your  said  realm  with  their 
merchandises,  be  well  and  honestly  entreated  and  demeaned  in 
their  subsidies  and  all  other  things,  and  that  the  said  merchants 
be  entreated  and  demeaned  as  they  were  in  the  time  of  your 
noble  progenitors,  without  oppression  to  be  done  to  the  mer- 
chants aforesaid,  by  the  treasurer  of  England  for  the  time  being, 
customers,  controllers,  searchers,  or  any  other  your  officers,  pay- 
ing their  subsidies  abovesaid.  And  that  the  said  subsidies  and 
every  parcel  of  them,  be  employed  and  applied  for  the  safeguard 
and  keeping  of  the  sea,  and  defense  of  this  your  said  realm,  in 
manner  and  form  as  it  is  before  rehearsed.  And  over  that,  we 
your  said  poor  commons,  by  the  assent  aforesaid,  grant  to  you, 
our  said  sovereign  lord,  for  the  great  affection  and  true  humble 
hearts  that  we  have  to  your  Highness,  for  the  defense  of  this  your 
noble  realm,  a  subsidy  of  wools,  woolfells  and  hides,  to  be  paid 
and  levied  in  manner  and  form  that  f olloweth ;  that  is  to  say,  of 
every  merchant  denizen,  for  the  subsidy  of  every  sack  of  wool, 
xxxiik.  iiii</.,  and  of  every  ccxl  woolfells,  xxxiiu.  iiii//.,  and  of 
every  last  of  hides  Ixvir.  viii</. ;  to  have  and  receive  the  said 
subsidy,  from  the  said  first  day  of  this  present  parliament,  for 
term  of  your  life :  and  of  every  merchant  stranger,  not  born  your 
liegeman,  as  well  those  that  be  made  denizens,  as  hereafter  shall 
be  made  by  your  letters  patents  or  otherwise,  as  of  other  mer- 
chants strangers,  of  every  sack  of  wool,  Ixvu.  viii</.,  and  of  every 
ccxl  woolfells,  Ixvij.  viii*/.,  and  of  every  last  of  hides,  Ixxiiij. 
iiii</.,  going  out  of  this  your  said  realm;  to  have  and  to  receive 
the  said  subsidies  of  the  merchandises  of  the  said  aliens,  from  the 
said  first  day  of  this  present  parliament,  during  your  natural  life: 
the  one  half  of  all  the  said  subsidies,  by  the  merchants  deni- 
zens to  be  paid  at  the  end  of  six  months  next  after  the  going  out 
of  the  merchandises,  and  the  other  half  at  the  end  of  six  months 


212  English  Constitutional  Documents 

then  next  following,  for  to  dispose  and  ordain  after  your  right 
gracious  will  and  discretion  for  the  defense  abovesaid.  *  *  * 


133.  An  Act  to  free  Subjects  from 
Benevolences 

(1484.     French  text  and  translation,  2  S.  R.  478.     3  Stubbs,  219,  237.) 

2.  THE  king  remembering  how  the  commons  of  this  his  realm 
by  new  and  unlawful  inventions  and  inordinate  covetousness, 
against  the  law  of  this  realm,  have  been  put  to  great  thraldom 
and  importable  charges  and  exactions,  and  in  especial  by  a  new 
imposition  named  a  benevolence,  whereby  divers  years  the  sub- 
jects and  commons  of  this  land  against  their  wills  and  freedom 
have  paid  great  sums  of  money  to  their  almost  utter  destruction; 
for  divers  and  many  worshipful  men  of  this  realm  by  occasion 
thereof  were  compelled  by  necessity  to  break  up  their  households 
and  to  live  in  great  penury  and  wretchedness,  their  debts  unpaid 
and  their  children  unpreferred,  and  such  memorials  as  they  had 
ordained  to  be  done  for  the  wealth  of  their  souls  were  made  void 
and  annulled,  to  the  great  displeasure  of  God  and  to  the  destruc- 
tion of  this  realm;  therefore  the  king  will  it  be  ordained,  by 
the  advice  and  assent  of  his  lords  spiritual  and  temporal  and 
the  commons  of  this  present  parliament  assembled,  and  by  the 
authority  of  the  same,  that  his  subjects  and  the  commonalty  of 
this  his  realm  from  henceforth  in  no  wise  be  charged  by  none 
such  charge  or  imposition  called  benevolence,  nor  by  such  like 
charge;  and  that  such  exactions  called  benevolences,  afore  this 
time  taken  be  taken  for  no  example  to  make  such  or  any  like 
charge  of  any  his  said  subjects  of  this  realm  hereafter,  but  it  be 
dampned  and  annulled  forever. 


Act  against  bringing  in  of  Gascony  Wine      213 
134.   Recognition  of  the  Title  of  Henry  VII 

(1485.     I  Henry  VIL  c.  I.     2  S.  It.  499.) 

HENRY,  by  the  grace  of  God,  king  of  England  and  of  France, 
and  lord  of  Ireland,  at  the  parliament  holden  at  Westminster 
the  seventh  day  of  November,  in  the  first  year  of  the  reign  of 
King  Henry,  the  seventh  after  the  conquest. 

To  the  pleasure  of  Almighty  God,  the  wealth,  prosperity  and 
surety  of  this  realm  of  England,  to  the  singular  comfort  of  all  the 
king's  subjects  of  the  same  and  in  avoiding  of  all  ambiguities  and 
questions,  with  the  assent  of  the  lords  spiritual  and  temporal, 
and  at  the  request  of  the  commons,  it  is  ordained,  established  and 
enacted  by  authority  of  this  present  parliament,  that  the  inheri- 
tances of  the  crowns  of  the  realms  of  England  and  of  France, 
with  all  the  permanence  and  royal  dignity  to  the  same  pertaining, 
and  all  other  seigniuriez  to  the  king  belonging  beyond  the  sea 
with  the  appurtenances  thereto  in  any  wise  due  or  pertaining,  be, 
rest,  remain  and  abide  in  the  most  royal  person  of  our  now  sov- 
ereign lord  King  Henry  the  VHth  and  in  the  heirs  of  his  body 
lawfully  coming,  perpetually  with  the  grace  of  God  so  to  endure 
and  in  none  other. 


135.  An  Act  against  bringing  in  of  Gascony 
Wine,  except  in  English,  Irish,  or  Welsh- 
men's Ships 

(1485.     I  Henry  VIL  c.  8.    2  S.  R.  502.) 

ITEM,  in  the  said  parliament  it  was  called  to  remembrance  of 
the  great  minishing  and  decay  that  hath  been  now  of  late  time 
the  navy  within  this  realm  of  England,  and  idleness  of  the 
mariners  within  the  same,  by  the  which  this  noble  realm  within 
short  process  of  time,  without  reformation  be  had  therein,  shall 
not  be  of  habilite  and  power  to  defend  itself:  wherefore  at  the 
prayer  of  the  said  commons,  the  king  our  sovereign  lord,  by  the 
advice  of  the  lords  spiritual  and  temporal,  in  this  said  present 
parliament  assembled,  and  by  authority  of  the  same,  it  is  enacted, 
ordained  and  established,  that  no  manner  person  of  what  degree 
or  condition  that  he  be  of,  buy  nor  sell  within  this  said  realm, 


214          English  Constitutional  Documents 

Ireland,  Wales,  Calais  or  the  marches  thereof,  or  Berwick,  from 
the  feast  of  Michaelmas  next  now  coming,  any  manner  of  wines  of 
the  growing  of  the  duchy  of  Guyenne  or  of  Gascony,  but  such  as 
shall  be  aventured  and  brought  in  an  English,  Irish  or  Welshman's 
ship  or  ships,  and  the  mariners  of  the  same  English,  Irish  or 
Welshmen  for  the  more  part,  or  men  of  Calais  or  of  the  marches 
of  the  same ;  and  that  upon  pain  of  forfeiture  of  the  same  wines 
so  bought  or  sold  contrary  to  this  act,  the  one  half  of  that  for- 
feiture to  be  to  the  king  our  sovereign  lord  and  that  other  half 
to  the  finder  of  that  forfeiture  :  this  act  and  ordinance  to  endure 
betwixt  this  and  the  next  parliament,  saving  alway  to  the  king  his 
prerogative. 


136.     Establishment  of  the    Court  of  Star 
Chamber 

(1487.     3  Henry  VII.  c.  I.     2  S.  ./?.  509.    This  text  revised  from  "The  Stat- 
utes of  Henry  VII.,  printed  by  Caxton  in  1489,"  ed.  Rae.) 

FIRST,  the  king  our  sovereign  lord  remembereth  how  by  unlaw- 
ful maintenances,  giving  of  liveries,  signs  and  tokens,  and 
retainders  by  indentures,  promises,  oaths,  writings,  or  otherwise 
embraceries  of  his  subjects,  untrue  demeanings  of  sheriffs  in 
making  of  panels  and  other  untrue  returns,  by  taking  of  money  by 
juries,  by  great  riots  and  unlawful  assemblies,  the  policy  and  good 
rule  of  this  realm  is  almost  subdued,  and  for  the  none  punishing 
of  these  inconveniences  and  by  occasion  of  the  premises  noth- 
ing or  little  can  be  found  by  inquiry,  whereby  the  laws  of  the 
land  in  execution  may  take  little  effect,  to  the  increase  of  mur- 
ders, robberies,  perjuries,  and  unsureties  of  all  men  living  and 
losses  of  their  lands  and  goods,  to  the  great  displeasure  of  Almighty 
God ;  therefore  it  is  ordained  for  reformation  of  the  premises  by 
the  authority  of  the  said  parliament,  that  the  chancellor  and  treas- 
urer of  England  for  the  time  being  and  keeper  of  the  king's  privy 
seal,  or  two  of  them,  calling  to  him  a  bishop  and  a  temporal  lord 
of  the  king's  most  honourable  council,  and  the  two  chief  justices 
of  the  king's  bench  and  common  pleas  for  the  time,  being,  or 
other  two  justices  in  their  absence,  upon  bill  or  information  put  to 
the  said  chancellor  for  the  king,  or  any  other,  against  any  person 
for  any  misbehaving  before  rehearsed,  have  authority  to  call 
before  them  by  writ  or  privy  seal  the  said  misdoers,  and  them  and 
other  by  their  discretions  by  whom  the  truth  may  be  known  to 


Allegiance  to  a  De  Facto  King  not  Treason     215 

examine,  and  such  as  they  find  therein  defective  to  punish  them 
after  their  demerits,  after  the  form  and  effect  of  statutes  thereof 
made,  in  like  manner  and  form  as  they  should  and  ought  to  be 
punished  if  they  were  thereof  convict  after  the  due  order  of  the 
law. 


137.    Allegiance  to  a  De  Facto  King  not 
Treason 

(1495.     1 1  Henry  VII.  c.  i.    2  S.  R.  568.) 

THE  king  our  sovereign  lord,  calling  to  his  remembrance  the 
duty  of  allegiance  of  his  subjects  of  this  his  realm,  and  that 
they  by  reason  of  the  same  are  bound  to  serve  their  prince  and 
sovereign  lord  for  the  time  being  in  his  wars  for  the  defence 
of  him  and  the  land  against  every  rebellion,  power  and  might 
reared  against  him,  and  with  him  to  enter  and  abide  in  service  in 
battle  if  the  case  so  require ;  and  that  for  the  same  service  what 
fortune  ever  fall  by  chance  in  the  same  battle  against  the  mind 
and  weal  of  the  prince,  as  in  this  land  some  time  past  hath  been 
seen,  that  it  is  not  reasonable,  but  against  all  laws,  reason,  and 
good  conscience  that  the  said  subjects  going  with  their  sovereign 
lord  in  wars,  attending  upon  him  in  his  person  or  being  in  other 
places  by  his  commandment  within  this  land  or  without,  anything 
should  lose  or  forfeit  for  doing  their  true  duty  and  service  of 
allegiance :  it  be  therefore  ordained,  enacted  and  established  by 
the  king  our  sovereign  lord  by  the  advice  and  assent  of  the  lords 
spiritual  and  temporal  and  the  commons  in  this  present  parliament 
assembled,  and  by  authority  of  the  same,  that  from  henceforth  no 
manner  of  person  nor  persons,  whatsoever  he  or  they  be,  that 
attend  upon  the  king  and  sovereign  lord  of  this  land  for  the  time 
being  in  his  person  and  do  him  true  and  faithful  service  of  alle- 
giance in  the  same,  or  be  in  other  places  by  his  commandment, 
in  his  wars  within  this  land  or  without,  that  for  the  said  deed  and 
true  duty  of  allegiance  he  or  they  be  in  no  wise  convict  or  attaint 
of  high  treason  nor  of  other  offences  for  that  cause  by  act  of  par- 
liament or  otherwise  by  any  process  of  law,  whereby  he  or  any  of 
them  shall  lose  or  forfeit  life,  lands,  tenements,  rents,  possessions, 
hereditaments,  goods,  chattels  or  any  other  things,  but  to  be  for 
that  deed  and  service  utterly  discharged  of  any  vexation,  trouble 


216  English  Constitutional  Documents 

or  loss ;  and  if  any  act  or  acts  or  other  process  of  the  law  here- 
after thereupon  for  the  same  happen  to  be  made  contrary  to  this 
ordinance,  that  then  that  act  or  acts  or  other  process  of  the  law 
whatsoever  they  shall  be,  stand  and  be  utterly  void. 

II.  Provided  alway  that  no  person  nor  persons  shall  take  any 
benefit  or  advantage  by  this  act  which  shall  hereafter  decline  from 
his  or  their  said  allegiance. 


138.    An  Act   against  Unlawful   Retainers  and 
Liveries 

(150! .     19  Henry  VII.  c.  14.     2  S.  R.  658.) 

*T^HE  king  our  sovereign  lord  calleth  to  his  remembrance  that 
-••  where  before  this  time  divers  statutes,  for  punishment  of 
such  persons  that  give  or  receive  liveries,  or  that  retain  any  per- 
son or  persons  or  be  retained  with  any  person  or  persons,  with 
divers  pains  and  forfeitures  in  the  same  statutes  comprised,  have 
been  made  and  established,  and  that  notwithstanding  divers  per- 
sons have  taken  upon  them  some  to  give  and  some  to  receive 
liveries  and  to  retain  and  be  retained  contrary  to  the  form  of  the 
said  statutes,  and  little  or  nothing  is  or  has  been  done  for  the 
punishment  of  the  offenders  in  that  behalf,  wherefore  our  sover- 
eign lord  the  king  by  the  advice  of  the  lords  spiritual  and  tem- 
poral and  of  the  commons  of  his  realm  in  this  parliament  being 
and  by  the  authority  of  the  same,  hath  ordained,  established  and 
enacted,  that  all  his  statutes  and  ordinances  before  this  time  made 
against  such  as  make  unlawful  retainers,  and  such  as  be  so  retained, 
or  that  give  or  receive  livery,  be  plainly  observed  and  kept  and 
put  in  due  execution. 

II.  And  over  that  our  said  sovereign  lord  and  king  ordaineth, 
establisheth  and  enacteth  by  the  said  authority,  that  no  person  of 
what  estate  or  degree  or  condition  he  be,  by  himself  or  any  other 
for  him  by  his  commandment  or  agreement  or  assent,  privily  or 
openly  give  any  livery  or  sign,  or  retain  any  person  other  than 
such  as  he  giveth  household  wages  unto  without  fraud  or  colour,  or 
that  he  be  his  manual  servant  or  his  officer  or  man  learned  in  one 
law  or  in  the  other,  by  any  writing,  oath,  promise,  livery,  sign, 
badge,  token,  or  in  any  other  manner  or  wise  unlawfully  retain ; 
and  if  any  do  the  contrary  that  then  he  run  and  fall  in  the  pain 
and  forfeiture  for  every  such  livery  and  sign,  badge  or  token  c.  s. 


Act  against  Unlawful  Retainers  and  Liveries      217 

and  the  taker  and  accepter  of  every  such  livery,  badge,  token,  or 
sign  to  forfeit  and  pay  for  every  such  livery  and  sign,  badge,  or 
token  so  accepted  c.  s.,  and  for  every  month  that  he  useth 
or  keepeth  such  livery  or  sign,  badge  or  token  after  that  he  hath 
taken  or  accepted  the  same  to  forfeit  and  pay  c.  s.,  and  every 
person  that  by  oath,  writing  or  promise,  or  in  any  other  wise 
unlawfully  retain  privily  or  openly,  and  also  every  such  person 
that  so  is  retained,  to  forfeit  and  pay  for  every  such  time  c.  s., 
and  as  well  every  person  that  so  retaineth  as  every  person  that  is 
so  retained  to  forfeit  and  pay  for  every  month  that  such  retainer 
is  continued  c.  s.  And  that  every  person  that  before  the  making 
of  this  act  by  livery,  sign,  token,  writing,  badge,  oath,  promise 
or  otherwise  unlawfully  hath  retained  any  person,  or  by  reason 
thereof  is  retained  at  the  time  of  making  of  this  act,  contrary  to 
the  premises,  that  as  well  every  of  them  that  keepeth  any  person 
so  in  retainer  as  every  person  that  so  is  and  continueth  so  retained 
shall  forfeit  to  the  king  for  every  month,  from  the  feast  under- 
written, that  such  retainer  is  continued,  c.  s. 


VL  Moreover  the  king  our  sovereign  lord  by  the  advice,  assent 
and  authority  aforesaid,  hath  ordained,  established,  and  enacted, 
that  every  person  that  will  sue  or  complain  before  the  chancellor 
of  England  or  the  keeper  of  the  king's  great  seal  in  the  star 
chamber,  or  before  the  king  in  his  bench,  or  before  the  king  and 
his  council  attending  upon  his'  most  royal  person  wheresoever  he 
be,  so  that  there  be  three  of  the  same  council  at  the  least,  of  the 
which  two  shall  be  lords  spiritual  or  temporal,  against  any 
person  or  persons  offending  or  doing  against  the  form  of  this 
ordinance  or  any  other  of  the  premises,  be  admitted  by  their  dis- 
cretion to  give  information,  and  every  such  informer  so  admitted 
shall  be  received  to  sue  upon  the  said  matter  by  information,  and 
that  he  be  received  and  admitted  to  give  such  information  or 
informations  before  the  said  chancellor  or  keeper  of  the  seal  in  the 
star  chamber  or  before  the  king  in  his  bench  or  before  the  king 
and  his  council  aforesaid  against  as  many  such  offenders  as  the 
person  that  so  shall  inform  will  or  shall  name ;  and  that  upon  the 
same  all  such  persons  be  called  by  writ,  subpoena,  privy  seal  or 
otherwise,  and  the  said  chancellor  or  keeper  of  the  seal  or  the 
king  in  his  bench  or  the  said  council  to  have  power  to  examine 
all  persons  defendants  and  every  of  them,  as  well  by  oath  as  other- 
wise, and  to  adjudge  him  or  them  convict  or  attaint  as  well  by 
such  examination  as  otherwise  in  such  penalties  as  is  aforesaid  as 


2i 8  English  Constitutional  Documents 

the  case  shall  require ;  and  also  shall  charge  by  judgment  in  the 
same  such  person  or  persons  so  convict  or  attaint  to  the  person, 
plaintiff  or  informer  in  all  costs  therein  had,  by  the  discretion  of 
him  or  them  before  whom  he  shall  be  so  attainted  or  convicted ; 
and  also  the  same  party,  plaintiff  or  informer  shall  have  such  rea- 
sonable reward  of  that  that  by  his  complaint  shall  grow  to  the 
king  as  shall  be  thought  reasonable  by  the  discretion  of  the  said 
chancellor  or  keeper  of  the  great  seal,  justices  or  council. 


139.     Reversal  of  Attainders 

(I5of.     19  Henry  VII.  c.  28.     2  S.  R.  669.) 

THE  king  our  sovereign  lord,  considering  that  divers  and  many 
persons,  whereof  some  of  them  and  some  of  their  ancestors 
were  and  be  attainted  of  high  treason  for  divers  offences  by  them 
committed  and  done  against  their  natural  duty  of  their  allegiance, 
make  and  have  made  instant  and  diligent  pursuit  in  their  most 
humble  wise  to  His  Highness  of  his  mercy  and  pity  to  have  the 
said  attainders  reversed  and  the  same  persons  so  attainted  to  be 
severally  restored,  that  is  to  say  Humphrey  Stafford  son  to  Hum- 
phrey Stafford  esquire,  John  Baynton  son  to  Robert  Baynton  late 
of  Fallesdon  in  the  county  of  Wiltes,  Robert  Ratclyff  son  to  John 
Ratclyff  knight,  late  Lord  Fytzwalter,  Thomas  Mountforde  son 
and  heir  to  Simon  Mountforde  knight,  Thomas  Wyndham  son  to 
John  Wyndham  knight,  Thomas  Tyrrell  son  to  James  Tyrrell  knight, 
John  Charleton  son  to  Richard  Charleton  knight,  Charles  Clyfforde 
son  and  heir  to  Jane  sister  and  heir  to  Thomas  Courteney  late  Earl 
of  Devonshire,  John  Malory  of  Lynchebarowe  in  the  county  of 
Northampton  gentleman ;  the  king's  Highness  of  his  especial 
grace,  mercy  and  pity,  being  sorry  for  any  such  untruth  and  fall 
of  any  of  his  subjects  in  such  case,  is  therefore  inclined  to  hear 
and  speed  reasonably  the  said  petitioners,  so  if  there  were  con- 
venient time  and  space  in  this  present  parliament,  as  yet  is  not, 
for  the  great  and  weighty  matters  concerning  the  common  weal 
of  this  land  treated  in  the  same,  and  that  the  said  parliament 
draweth  so  near  to  the  end,  and  that  after  the  same  His  Highness 
is  not  minded  for  the  ease  of  his  subjects  without  great,  necessary 
and  urgent  causes  of  long  time  to  call  and  summon  a  new  parlia- 
ment, by  which  long  tract  of  time  the  said  suitors  and  petitioners 


Reversal  of  Attainders  219 

were  and  should  be  discomforted  and  in  despair  of  expedition  of 
their  suits,  petitions  and  causes,  unless  convenient  remedy  for 
them  were  pun-eyed  in  this  behalf:  wherefore  and  in  considera- 
tion of  the  premises  the  king's  Highness  is  agreed  and  contented 
that  it  be  enacted  by  the  lords  spiritual  and  temporal  and  the  com- 
mons in  this  present  parliament  assembled  and  by  authority  of  the 
same,  that  the  king's  Highness,  from  henceforth  during  his  life, 
shall  have  plain  and  full  authority  and  power  by  his  letters  patent 
under  his  great  seal,  to  reverse,  annull,  repeal  and  avoid  all  the 
attainders  of  the  said  persons  and  every  of  them  and  the  heirs 
of  every  of  them,  and  of  all  other  persons  and  the  heirs  of  such 
persons  and  every  of  them  as  have  been  attainted  of  high  treason 
by  act  of  parliament  or  by  the  common  law,  at  any  time  from  the 
xxii  day  of  August  the  first  year  of  his  most  noble  reign  to  the  first  day 
of  this  present  parliament ;  and  also  of  all  persons  attainted  in  and 
by  this  present  parliament ;  and  also  of  all  other  persons  attainted 
of  treason  at  any  time  during  the  reign  of  King  Richard  the  Third 
as  well  by  the  course  and  order  of  the  common  law  as  by  the 
authority  of  parliament  or  otherwise :  and  furthermore  the  king's 
Grace  by  his  letters  patents  under  his  said  great  seal  to  have  full 
authority  and  power  to  restore  the  same  persons  so  attainted  and 
their  heirs  and  every  of  them  and  to  enable  them  in  name,  blood 
and  inheritance  as  if  the  said  attainders  or  any  of  them  had  never 
been  had  nor  made ;  and  that  the  said  letters  patent  rehearsing 
the  said  reversal,  repeal,  annullation  and  avoydance  of  the  said 
acts  of  attainder  or  any  of  them,  and  the  restitutions  and  enable- 
ments  of  the  said  persons  or  any  of  them,  and  the  inheritance  con- 
tained in  any  of  the  king's  said  letters  patent  at  any  time  hereafter 
to  be  made  according  to  the  effect  of  this  act,  be  as  good,  effectual 
and  available  in  the  law  to  every  of  the  same  persons  to  whom 
they  shall  be  made  according  to  the  effect,  tenor,  purports,  grants 
and  words  in  the  same  so  made  according  to  the  effect  of  this 
act,  as  if  the  same  matters,  words,  tenors,  and  purports,  con- 
tained in  any  of  the  said  letters  patent  so  made,  were  fully  enacted, 
established  and  authorized  by  authority  of  parliament. 

II.  Provided  alway  that  all  persons  that  have  or  hold  any 
honours,  castles,  lordships,  manors,  lands,  tenements,  fees,  offices, 
annuities,  fermes,  rent  charges,  liberties,  franchises,  or  other  here- 
ditaments or  possessions,  by  the  king's  letters  patent,  privy  seal, 
placard  or  bills  assigned,  in  fee  simple,  fee  tail  or  for  term  of  life 
or  of  years  or  at  will,  or  by  letters  patent  made  by  King  Edward 
the  IVth,  shall  have,  hold  and  enjoy  to  them,  their  heirs  and  as- 
signees, against  such  persons  as  so  hereafter  shall  be  restored  and 


21O          English  Constitutional  Documents 

their  heirs  and  assignees  and  against  all  other  to  their  use  and 
against  none  other  persons,  all  the  same  honours,  castles,  manors, 
lordships,  lands,  tenements,  fees,  offices,  rents  and  other  premises, 
after  the  form,  tenor  and  effect  of  the  same  letters  patent,  privy 
seal,  placard  or  bills  assigned,  as  if  this  act  or  any  such  restitution 
to  them  had  never  been  had  or  made. 


140.   Grant  of  Two  Aids 

(I50| .     19  Henry  VII.  c.  32.     2  £  A  675.) 

"PORASMUCH  as  the  king  our  sovereign  lord  is  rightfully  entitled 
-T  to  have  two  reasonable  aids  according  to  the  laws  of  this  land, 
the  one  aid  for  the  making  knight  of  the  right  noble  prince  his 
first  begotten  son  Arthur  late  Prince  of  Wales  deceased  whose 
soul  God  pardon,  and  the  other  aid  for  the  marriage  of  the  right 
noble  princess  his  first  begotten  daughter  Margaret  now  married 
unto  the  king  of  Scots ;  and  also  that  His  Highness  hath  sus- 
tained and  borne  great  and  inestimable  charges  for  the  defense  of 
this  his  realm,  and  for  a  firm  and  perpetual  peace  with  the  realm 
of  Scotland  and  many  other  countries  and  regions,  to  the  great 
weal,  comfort  and  quietness  of  all  his  subjects ;  the  commons  in 
this  present  parliament  assembled,  considering  the  premises,  and 
that  if  the  same  aids  should  be  either  of  them  levied  and  had  by 
reason  of  their  tenures  according  to  the  ancient  laws  of  this  land, 
should  be  to  them  doubtful,  uncertain  and  great  inquietness  for 
the  search  and  non  knowledge  of  their  several  tenures  and  of  their 
lands  chargeable  to  the  same,  have  made  humble  petition  unto 
His  Highness  graciously  to  accept  and  take  of  them  the  sum  of 
xl  M1  li.  as  well  in  recompense  and  satisfaction  of  the  said  two 
aids,  as  for  the  said  great  and  inestimable  charges  which  His 
Grace  hath  "sustained  and  borne  as  is  aforesaid,  to  the  weal, 
surety  and  comfort  perpetual  of  them,  their  heirs  and  successors ; 
upon  the  which  petition  and  offer  so  made  His  Grace  benignly 
considering  the  good  and  loving  mind  of  his  subjects  and  to 
eschew  and  avoid  the  great  vexations,  troubles  and  unquietness 
which  to  them  should  have  ensued  if  the  said  aids  were  levied, 
received  and  taken  after  the  ancient  laws  and  form,  as  the  said 
commons  in  their  said  petition  have  considered,  and  also  calling 
to  his  most  noble  remembrance  the  good  and  acceptable  services 
that  the  nobles  of  this  realm  and  other  his  faithful  and  true  sub- 


Grant  of  Two  Aids  221 

jects  of  the  same  in  their  own  personages  and  otherwise  have 
done  to  His  Grace,  and  thereby  sustained  manifold  costs  and 
charges  to  his  great  honour  and  pleasure,  and  also  to  the  common 
weal  of  this  his  realm,  of  his  mere  motion  and  abundant  grace, 
and  for  the  tender  zeal  and  love  that  His  Highness  beareth  to  his 
said  nobles  and  subjects,  hath  remitted,  pardoned  and  released, 
and  by  this  present  act  doth  remit,  pardon  and  release  unto  his 
said  nobles  and  all  his  said  subjects  in  any  wise  chargeable  or 
contributory  to  the  said  aids  or  either  of  them  or  any  part  of 
them,  and  to  their  heirs,  executors  and  successors,  all  his  right, 
title  and  interest  which  His  Grace  hath  or  in  any  wise  may  or 
ought  to  have  by  reason  of  the  said  two  aids  or  either  of  them  ;  and 
also  His  Grace  holdeth  him  right  well  pleased  with  the  said  loving 
offer  and  grant  of  his  subjects  by  them  so  made  for  his  great  and 
inestimable  costs  and  charges  by  His  Highness  borne  and  sustained 
as  is  above  said ;  and  over  this  of  his  more  ample  grace  and  pity, 
that  the  poor  people  of  his  commons  of  this  his  land  should  not  in 
any  wise  be  contributory  or  chargeable  to  any  part  of  the  said 
sum  of  xl  M1  li.  but  to  be  thereof  discharged,  hath  pardoned,  re- 
mitted and  released  the  sum  of  x  M.  li.,  parcel  of  the  said  sum  of 
xl  M.  li.,  and  is  content  to  accept  and  take  of  them  the  sum  of 
xxx  M.  li.  only  in  full  recompense  and  satisfaction  of  and  for  all 
the  premises ;  which  sum  of  xxx  M.  li.  it  is  enacted,  ordained 
and  established  by  the  authority  of  this  present  parliament  to  be 
ordered,  assessed,  levied,  paid,  and  had  after  the  manner  and 
form  ensuing  that  is  to  say :  that  every  shire  within  this  realm 
shall  bear  and  pay  such  sums  of  money  assessed  upon  every  of  the 
said  shires  as  here  under  in  this  act  particularly  it  doth  appear ; 
and  that  the  cities  and  boroughs,  towns  and  places,  being  within 
every  shire,  not  by  themselves  accountable  in  the  king's  exchequer 
for  xv  me>  and  x  me>,  be  chargeable  with  the  said  shires  to  the  sat- 
isfaction and  payment  of  the  said  sum  of  xxx  M1  li. ;  and  all 
cities,  boroughs  and  towns,  not  contributory  nor  chargeable  with 
shires  and  accountable  by  themselves  in  the  said  exchequer  for 
any  xv me  and  xme,  shall  be  charged  toward  the  contenting  and 
satisfaction  of  the  said  sum  of  xxx  M1  li.  with  like  and  such  sums 
of  money  as  also  hereunder  in  this  act  particularly  it  doth  appear ; 
and  that  to  the  payment  of  the  said  sum  of  xxx  M1  li ;  every 
person  or  persons  having  lands  or  tenements  or  other  heredita- 
ments or  possessions,  in  lands  or  tenements  in  fee  simple,  fee  tail, 
freehold  at  will  after  the  custom  of  the  manor,  ward,  execution 
or  ancient  demesne,  within  any  of  the  said  cities,  shires,  towns  or 
boroughs  to  the  yearly  value  of  xxt!  s.  of  free  charter  land  or  of 


222  English  Constitutional  Documents 

xxvi  s.  viii  d.  of  land  holden  at  will  above  all  charges,  whereof 
they  or  any  of  them  be  seised  or  possessed  or  any  other  person 
or  persons  to  the  use  of  them  or  any  of  them,  and  not  therewith 
chargeable  with  spiritual  dismes,  or  any  person  or  persons  having 
goods  or  chattels  to  their  proper  use  to  the  value  of  x  marcs  and 
above,  not  accounting  their  cattle  for  their  plough  nor  their  neces- 
sary stuff  and  implements  of  household,  shall  for  the  same  be 
chargeable  for  the  payment  of  the  said  sum  of  xxx  M1  li. ;  and 
none  other  persons  of  less  substance  in  lands  and  goods;  and 
that  such  x  marcs  of  goods  shall  be  seised  and  chargeable  with 
like  and  equal  sums  rateable  at  xx  s.  of  freehold  or  xxvi  s.  viii  d. 
of  copyhold  in  every  shire,  city  and  borough  and  in  no  other 
form :  which  sum  of  xxx  M1  li.  to  be  levied  in  the  said  shires 
shall  be  ordered  and  assessed  by  the  discretion  of  the  commis- 
sioners in  this  act  named,  before  the  feast  of  Saint  Michael  the 
Archangel  next  coming,  or  four  of  them  at  the  least,  calling  to  them 
other  discreet  persons  dwelling  within  the  said  shires  such  as  they 
shall  think  necessary  which  shall  give  unto  them  their  advice  and 
assistance  for  the  execution  of  the  premises ;  and  in  every  of  the 
said  cities,  boroughs  and  towns  which  are  accountable  by  them- 
selves in  the  exchequer  as  is  aforesaid  for  the  levying  of  such  sums 
as  they  shall  be  chargeable  with  for  the  said  sum  of  xxx  M1  li.  to 
be  ordered  and  assessed  by  the  mayors,  justices  of  peace,  sheriffs, 
bailiffs  and  other  head  officers  of  the  same  cities,  boroughs  or 
towns  or  four  of  them  at  the  least,  calling  to  them  other  discreet 
persons  dwelling  within  the  said  cities,  boroughs  and  towns  as  they 
shall  think  necessary  which  shall  give  to  them  their  advice  and 
assistance  for  execution  of  the  premises ;  and  that  all  persons  be 
charged  and  bound  by  the  said  ordering  and  assessing  according 
to  the  effect  of  the  same,  the  said  sum  of  xxx  M1  li.  to  be  paid  to 
our  said  sovereign  lord  the  king  in  this  exchequer  by  the  collec- 
tors to  be  assigned  for  the  gathering  and  collection  of  the  same 
at  the  feast  of  Saint  Andrew  next  coming ;  and  the  said  sums  of 
the  said  xxx  M1  li.  in  form  afore  rehearsed  or  ordered  and  as- 
sessed, as  well  the  said  commissioners  in  the  said  shires  or  four  of 
them  at  the  least,  as  in  the  said  cities  and  boroughs  or  four  of  them 
at  the  least,  shall  name  collectors  for  the  levy  of  the  same,  and 
certify  under  their  seals  the  names  of  the  said  collectors  into  the 
king's  exchequer  before  the  feast  of  All  Saints  next  coming ;  and 
that  the  collectors  to  be  named  and  assigned  to  gather  and  levy 
the  said  sum  of  xxx  M1  li.  shall  have  full  authority  and  power, 
after  eight  days  next  ensuing  the  said  assessing,  to  levy  and  gather 
the  same  and  for  non  payment  thereof  to  distrain,  take,  apprise 


Benefit  of  Clergy  denied  to  Murderers      223 

indifferently  and  sell  as  much  of  the  goods  and  chattels  of  every 
person  within  the  shires,  cities  or  boroughs  where  they  shall  be 
collectors  as  shall  "serve  for  the  payment  of  such  sum  or  sums  of 
money  which  every  of  them  shall  be  ordered  and  assessed  to  pay, 
not  charging  any  person  but  only  for  the  sum  upon  him  assessed ; 
and  for  non  payment  of  any  sum  of  money  ordered  and  assessed 
in  form  aforesaid  on  every  person  that  it  shall  be  lawful  to  the 
said  collectors  to  distrain,  take  and  apprise  indifferently  and  sell 
as  much  of  the  said  goods  and  chattels  of  the  farmers  and  tenants 
of  any  of  the  same  persons  so  assessed  not  paying  as  shall  serve 
for  the  payment  of  such  sums  of  money  as  shall  upon  the  said 
persons  not  making  payment  be  ordered  or  assessed ;  and  that 
no  person  or  persons  be  distrained  or  his  goods  or  chattels  taken 
for  any  sum  upon  him  ordered  or  assessed,  but  after  such  rate 
and  in  such  towns,  cities,  boroughs  and  places  where  his  lands 
or  his  goods  be  for  the  which  he  is  assessed ;  also  that  the  said 
commissioners  in  every  shire  or  four  of  them  at  the  least,  shall  by 
writing  indented  under  their  seals  deliver  to  the  collectors  of  the 
said  sum  of  xxx  M1  li.  within  eight  days  next  after  the  said  assess- 
ing, the  names  and  sums  of  every  person  which  they  shall  be 
appointed  and  limited  to  gather  by  the  said  writing. 


141.    Benefit  of  Clergy  denied  to  Murderers 

(1512.     4  Henry  VIII.  c.  2.     3  S.  R.  49.) 

"1 1 /"HEREAS  robberies,  murders  and  felonies  daily  increase  more 
W  and  more,  and  are  committed  and  done  in  more  heinous, 
open  and  detestable  wise  than  hath  been  often  seen  in  times 
past,  and  the  persons  so  offending  little  regard  the  punishment 
thereof  by  the  course  of  the  common  law  nor  by  reason  of  any 
statute  heretofore  made,  but  bear  them  bold  of  their  clergy  and 
imagining  and  pleading  of  feigned  and  untrue  foreign  pleas  triable 
in  foreign  counties  to  the  intent  to  be  removed  from  place  to  place 
by  colourable  and  untrue  suggestions,  and  for  to  be  untruely  acquit 
by  favor,  might  and  corruption  so  that  they  live  in  manner  with- 
out fear  or  dread ;  for  reformation  whereof  and  for  the  common 
wealth  of  this  realm  and  for  to  put  the  said  murderers,  felons 
and  offenders  in  more  fear  and  dread  so  to  offend ;  be  it  ordained, 
established  and  enacted  by  the  king  our  sovereign  lord,  the  lords 


224  English  Constitutional  Documents 

spiritual  and  temporal  and  the  commons  in  this  present  parlia- 
ment assembled  and  by  the  authority  of  the  same,  that  all  person 
or  persons  hereafter  committing  murder  or  felony  in  any  church, 
chapel  or  hallowed  place,  or  of  and  upon  malice  prepense  rob  or 
murder  any  person  or  persons  in  the  king's  highway,  or  else  rob 
or  murder  any  person  in  his  house  the  owner  or  dweller  of  the 
house,  his  wife,  child  or  servant  then  being  therein  and  put  in 
fear  or  dread  by  the  same,  that  such  person  or  persons  so  offend- 
ing be  not  from  henceforth  admitted  to  his  or  their  clergy,  such 
as  are  within  holy  orders  only  except. 


142.    Act  in  Strode's  Case 

(1512.     4  Henry  VIII.  c.  8.     3^.^.53.) 


II.  *  *  *  AND  over  that  be  it  enacted  by  the  said  authority 
that  all  suits,  accusations,  condemnations,  executions,  fines,  amerci- 
aments,  punishments,  corrections,  grievances,  charges  and  imposi- 
tions put  or  had  or  hereafter  to  be  put  or  had  unto  or  upon  the 
said  Richard  [Strode]  and  to  every  other  of  the  person  or  persons 
afore  specified,  that  now  be  of  this  present  parliament  or  that  of 
any  parliament  hereafter  shall  be,  for  any  bill  speaking,  reasoning 
or  declaring  of  any  matter  or  matters  concerning  the  parliament 
to  be  convened  and  treated  of,  be  utterly  void  and  of  none  effect. 
And  over  that  be  it  enacted  by  the  said  authority  that  if  the  said 
Richard  Strode  or  any  of  all  the  said  other  person  or  persons 
hereafter  be  vexed,  troubled  or  otherwise  charged  for  any  causes 
as  is  afore  said,  that  then  he  or  they  and  every  of  them  so  vexed 
or  troubled  of  and  for  the  same  to  have  action  upon  the  case 
against  every  such  person  or  persons  so  vexing  or  troubling  any 
contrary  to  this  ordinance  and  provision,  in  the  which  action  the 
party  grieved  shall  recover  treble  damages  and  costs,  and  that  no 
protection,  essoin,  nor  wager  of  law  in  the  said  action  in  any  wise 
be  admitted  nor  received. 


Resumption  of  Royal  Grants  225 

143.  Resumption  of  Royal  Grants 

(151$.     6  Henry  VIII.  c.  25.    3  S.  R.  153.) 

HPO  the  king  our  sovereign  lord, 

J-  Pray  and  in  the  most  humble  wise  beseech  your  Highness 
your  humble  subjects  the  commons  in  this  present  parliament  by 
your  high  commandment  assembled,  that  where  the  most  noble 
and  Christian  princes  king  Henry  the  Vlth,  king  Edward  the  IHrd 
and  the  most  famous  and  renowned  prince  of  most  worthy  mem- 
ory king  Henry  the  Vllth  your  father,  whom  God  pardon,  and 
other  your  noble  progenitors  have  kept  as  honourable  estates,  as 
well  in  their  own  persons  as  in  their  households  and  other  their 
charges,  as  well  in  defence  of  this  your  realm  as  in  defence  of  the 
towns  of  Calais,  Guyenne,  Hammes,  Berwick  and  the  marches  of 
the  same,  and  other  charges  of  this  your  realm  of  the  only  revenues 
thereof,  as  hath  done  any  king  or  Christian  prince  in  any  other 
Christian  region,  not  only  to  the  great  honour  of  the  same  but  also 
to  the  great  ease,  rest  and  quietness  of  the  people  of  the  same, 
which  caused  all  other  lands  and  realms  to  have  this  your  realm 
in  great  renown,  dread  and  fear  and  your  said  progenitors  to  be 
dreaded  of  all  outward  nations ;  and  so  it  is  most  dread  sovereign 
lord  that  the  revenues  of  your  lands  and  other  things  being  in  your 
hands  and  possession  are  so  greatly  minished,  by  reason  of  the 
manifold  gifts,  grants  and  releases  passed  from  your  Highness  since 
the  beginning  of  your  most  noble  reign  hitherto,  that  the  residue 
thereof  now  remaining  in  your  hands  and  possession  in  no  wise 
sufficeth  nor  can  suffice  to  bear  and  sustain  your  great  charges, 
which  daily  increase  as  well  by  reason  of  your  wars  now  being  in 
hand  against  your  ancient  enemies  the  Scots  as  of  your  great 
charges  in  keeping  and  defence  of  your  city  of  Tournay  late  by 
your  Grace  victoriously  conquered,  and  which  of  very  necessity 
must  be  maintained  and  borne  as  accordeth  to  your  princely  estate 
and  honour  of  your  Highness  and  surety  of  your  humble  subjects 
and  of  your  realm  :  in  consideration  whereof  may  it  please  your 
Highness  by  the  advice  and  assent  of  the  lords  spiritual  and  tem- 
poral in  this  present  parliament  assembled  and  by  authority  of  the 
same,  for  the  conservation  and  maintaining  of  your  most  royal 
estate  and  other  charges  above  rehearsed,  to  the  pleasure  of  God 
and  for  your  own  honour  and  surety  and  also  for  the  universal  weal, 
ease,  rest  and  surety  of  this  your  realm  and  land,  and  for  the  min- 
ishing  and  lessening  of  the  charges  and  burden  of  your  said  poor 


226  English.  Constitutional  Documents 

commons  and  subjects  of  the  same  which  your  Grace  oweth  to 
prefer  and  specially  regard  before  the  favour  of  any  particular  per- 
sons or  earthly  things;  to  take,  seise,  resume  and  have  in  your 
hands  from  the  feast  of  Easter  next  coming  all  and  singular  those 
and  such  annuities  granted  to  any  person  or  persons  by  your  High- 
ness by  your  letters  patents,  *  *  * 


1 44.    The  Conditional  Restraint  of  Annates 

(1532.     23  Henry  VIII.  c.  20.    3  S.  K.  385.    The  whole  act  reprinted  in  G. 
and  H.  178-186.) 

T^ORASMUCH  as  it  is  well  perceived,  by  long-approved  expe- 
±  rience,  that  great  and  inestimable  sums  of  money  have  been 
daily  conveyed  out  of  this  realm,  to  the  impoverishment  of  the 
same ;  and  specially  such  sums  of  money  'as  the  pope's  holiness, 
his  predecessors,  and  the  Court  of  Rome,  by  long  time  have  here- 
tofore taken  of  all  and  singular  those  spiritual  persons  which  have 
been  named,  elected,  presented,  or  postulated  to  be  archbishops 
or  bishops  within  this  realm  of  England,  under  the  title  of  annates, 
otherwise  called  first-fruits :  which  annates,  or  first-fruits,  hereto- 
fore have  been  taken  of  every  archbishopric,  or  bishopric,  within 
this  realm,  by  restraint  of  the  pope's  bulls,  for  confirmations,  elec- 
tions, admissions,  postulations,  provisions,  collations,  dispositions, 
institutions,  installations,  investitures,  orders,  holy  benedictions, 
palls,  or  other  things  requisite  and  necessary  to  the  attaining  of 
those  their  promotions ;  and  have  been  compelled  to  pay,  before 
they  could  attain  the  same,  great  sums  of  money,  before  they 
might  receive  any  part  of  the  fruits  of  the  said  archbishopric,  or 
bishopric,  whereunto  they  were  named,  elected,  presented,  or 
postulated ;  by  occasion  whereof,  not  only  the  treasure  of  this 
realm  has  been  greatly  conveyed  out  of  the  same,  but  also  it  has 
happened  many  times,  by  occasion  of  death,  unto  such  archbishops, 
and  bishops,  so  newly  promoted,  within  two  or  three  years  after 
his  or  their  consecration,  that  his  or  their  friends,  by  whom  he  or 
they  have  been  holpen  to  advance  and  make  payment  of  the  said 
annates,  or  first-fruits,  have  been  thereby  utterly  undone  and 
impoverished : 

II.  And  for  because  the  said  annates  have  risen,  grown,  and 
increased,  by  an  uncharitable  custom,  grounded  upon  no  just  or 
good  title,  and  the  payments  thereof  obtained  by  restraint  of  bulls, 
until  the  same  annates,  or  first-fruits,  have  been  paid,  or  surety 


The  Conditional  Restraint  of  Annates       227 

made  for  the  same;   which  declares  the  said  payments  to  be 
exacted,  and  taken  by  constraint,  against  all  equity  and  justice: 

III.  The  noblemen,  therefore,  of  the  realm,  and  the  wise,  sage, 
politic  commons  oT  the   same,  assembled  in  this  present  Parlia- 
ment, considering  that  the  Court  of  Rome  ceases  not  to  tax,  take, 
and  exact  the  said  great  sums  of  money,  under  the  title  of  annates, 
or  first-fruits,  as  is  aforesaid,  to  the  great  damage  of  the  said  prel- 
ates and  this  realm ;  which  annates  or  first-fruits,  were  first  suf- 
fered to  be  taken  within  the  same  realm,  for  the  only  defence  of 
Christian  people  against  the  infidels,  and  now  they  be  claimed  and 
demanded  as  mere  duty,  only  for  lucre,  against  all  right  and  con- 
science :   insomuch   that  it  is   evidently  known,  that   there   has 
passed  out  of  this  realm  unto  the  Court  of  Rome,  since  the  second 
year  of  the  reign  of  the  most  noble  prince  of  famous  memory, 
King   Henry  VII.,  unto  this  present  time,  under   the    name  of 
annates,  or  first-fruits,  paid  for  the  expedition  of  bulls  of  arch- 
bishoprics and   bishoprics,  the  sum  of  eight  hundred  thousand 
ducats,  amounting  in  sterling  money,  at  the  least,  to  eight  score 
thousand  pounds,  besides  other  great  and  intolerable  sums  which 
have  yearly  been  conveyed  to  the  said  Court  of  Rome,  by  many 
other  ways  and  means,  to  the  great  impoverishment  of  this  realm  : 

IV.  And  albeit   that  our  said  sovereign  the  king,  and  all  his 
natural  subjects,  as  well   spiritual   as   temporal,  be   as  obedient, 
devout,  catholic,  and  humble  children  of  God  and  Holy  Church, 
as  any  people  be  within  any  realm  christened ;  yet  the  said  exac- 
tions of  annates,  or  first-fruits,  be  so  intolerable  and  importable  to 
this  realm,  that  it  is  considered  and  declared,  by  the  whole  body 
of  this  realm  now  represented  by  all  the  estates  of  the  same 
assembled  in  this  present  Parliament,  that  the  king's  highness 
before  Almighty  God  is  bound,  as  by  the  duty  of  a  good  Chris- 
tian prince,  for  the  conservation  and  preservation  of  the  good 
estate  and  commonwealth  of  this  his  realm,  to  do  all  that  in  him 
is  to  obviate,  repress,  and  redress  the  said  abuses  and  exactions  of 
annates,  cr  first-fruits:  and  because  that  divers  prelates  of  this 
realm  be  now  in  extreme  age,  and  in  other  debilities  of  their 
bodies,  so  that  of  likelihood  bodily  death  in  short  time  shall  or 
may  succeed  unto  them ;  by  reason  whereof  great  sums  of  money 
shall  shortly  after  their  deaths  be  conveyed  unto  the   Court  of 
Rome,  for  the  unreasonable  and  uncharitable  causes  abovesaid,  to 
the  universal  damage,  prejudice,  and  impoverishment  of  this  realm, 
if  speedy  remedy  be  not  in  due  time  provided  : 

V.  It  is   therefore   ordained,   established,   and    enacted,   by 
authority  of  this  present  Parliament,  that  the  unlawful  payments 


228  English  Constitutional  Documents 

of  annates,  or  first-fruits,  and  all  manner  contributions  for  the 
same,  for  any  archbishopric  or  bishopric,  or  for  any  bulls  hereafter 
to  be  obtained  from  the  Court  of  Rome,  to  or  for  the  aforesaid 
purpose  and  intent,  shall  from  henceforth  utterly  cease,  and  no 
such  hereafter  to  be  paid  for  any  archbishopric,  or  bishopric, 
within  this  realm,  other  or  otherwise  than  hereafter  in  this  present 
Act  is  declared ;  and  that  no  manner  person  nor  persons  hereafter 
to  be  named,  elected,  presented,  or  postulated  to  any  archbishop- 
ric, or  bishopric,  within  this  realm,  shall  pay  the  said  annates,  or 
first-fruits,  for  the  said  archbishopric,  or  bishopric,  nor  any  other 
manner  of  sum  or  sums  of  money,  pensions,  or  annuities  for  the 
same,  or  for  any  other  like  exaction,  or  cause,  upon  pain  to  forfeit 
to  our  said  sovereign  lord  the  king,  his  heirs  and  successors,  all 
manner  his  goods  and  chattels  for  ever,  and  all  the  temporal  lands 
and  possessions  of  the  same  archbishopric,  or  bishopric,  during  the 
time  that  he  or  they  which  shall  offend,  contrary  to  this  present 
Act,  shall  have,  possess,  or  enjoy  the  archbishopric,  or  bishopric, 
wherefore  he  shall  so  offend  contrary  to  the  form  aforesaid. 


XII.  And  if  that  upon  the  aforesaid  reasonable,  amicable,  and 
charitable  ways  and  means,  by  the  king's  highness  to  be  experi- 
mented, moved,  or  compounded,  or  otherwise  approved,  it  shall 
and  may  appear,  or  be  seen  unto  his  grace,  that  this  realm  shall 
be  continually  burdened  and  charged  with  this,  and  such  other 
intolerable  exactions  and  demands,  as  heretofore  it  hath  been ; 
and  that  thereupon,  for  continuance  of  the  same,  our  said  holy 
father  the  pope,  or  any  of  his  successors,  or  the  Court  of  Rome, 
will,  or  do,  or  cause  to  be  done  at  any  time  hereafter,  so  as  is 
above  rehearsed,  unjustly,   uncharitably,  and  unreasonably,  vex, 
inquiet,  molest,  trouble,  or  grieve  our   said  sovereign   lord,  his 
heirs  or  successors,  kings  of  England,  or  any  of  his  or  their  spirit- 
ual or  lay  subjects,  or  this  his  realm,  by  excommunication,  ex- 
commengement,  interdiction,  or  by  any  other  process,  censures, 
compulsories,  ways  or  means  : 

XIII.  Be  it  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  that  the  king's  high- 
ness, his  heirs  and  successors,  kings  of  England,  and  all  his  spiritual 
and  lay  subjects  of  the  same,  without  any  scruples  of  conscience, 
shall   and   may  lawfully,  to   the    honour   of  Almighty  God,  the 
increase  and  continuance  of  virtue  and  good  example  within  this 
realm,  the  said  censures,  excommunications,  interdictions,  com- 
pulsories, or  any  of  them  notwithstanding,  minister,  or  cause  to  be 
ministered,  throughout  this  said  realm,  and  all  other  the  dominions 


Act  in  Restraint  of  Appeals  11$ 

or  territories  belonging  or  appertaining  thereunto,  all  and  all  man- 
ner of  sacraments,  sacramentals,  ceremonies,  or  other  divine  ser- 
vice of  Holy  Church,  or  any  other  thing  or  things  necessary  for  the 
health  of  the  soul  of  mankind,  as  they  heretofore  at  any  time  or 
times  have  been  virtuously  used  or  accustomed  to  do  within  the 
same ;  and  that  no  manner  such  censures,  excommunications, 
interdictions,  or  any  other  process  or  compulsories,  shall  be  by 
any  of  the  prelates,  or  other  spiritual  fathers  of  this  region,  nor  by 
any  of  their  ministers  or  substitutes,  at  any  time  or  times  here- 
after published,  executed,  nor  divulged,  nor  suffered  to  be  pub- 
lished, executed,  or  divulged  in  any  manner  of  wise. 

XIV.  Be  it  remembered  that  on  the  pth  day  of  July,  in  the 
25th  year  of  the  reign  of  King  Henry,  the  same  lord  the  king,  by 
his  letters  patent,  sealed  under  his  great  seal,  ratified  and  con- 
firmed the  aforesaid  Act,  and  gave  to  that  Act  his  royal  assent. 


145.     Act  in  Restraint  of  Appeals 

(1533.     24  Henry  VIII.  c.  12.     3  S.  K.  427.    The  whole  act  reprinted  in 
G.  and  H.  187-195.) 

"1 1 /"HERE  by  divers  sundry  old  authentic  histories  and  chroni- 
•  V  cles,  it  is  manifestly  declared  and  expressed,  that  this  realm  of 
England  is  an  empire,  and  so  hath  been  accepted  in  the  world,  gov- 
erned by  one  supreme  head  and  king,  having  the  dignity  and  royal 
estate  of  the  imperial  crown  of  the  same,  unto  whom  a  body 
politic,  compact  of  all  sorts  and  degrees  of  people,  divided  in 
terms,  and  by  names  of  spiritualty  and  temporally,  be  bounden 
and  ought  to  bear,  next  to  God,  a  natural  and  humble  obedience  : 
he  being  also  institute  and  furnished,  by  the  goodness  and  suffer- 
ance of  Almighty  God,  with  plenary,  whole,  and  entire  power, 
pre-eminence,  authority,  prerogative  and  jurisdiction,  to  render 
and  yield  justice,  and  final  determination  to  all  manner  of  folk, 
residents,  or  subjects  within  this  his  realm,  in  all  causes,  matters, 
debates,  and  contentions,  happening  to  occur,  insurge,  or  begin 
within  the  limits  thereof,  without  restraint,  or  provocation  to  any 
foreign  princes  or  potentates  of  the  world ;  the  body  spiritual 
whereof  having  power,  when  any  cause  of  the  law  divine  hap- 
pened to  come  in  question,  or  of  spiritual  learning,  then  it  was 
declared,  interpreted,  and  showed  by  that  part  of  the  said  body 
politic,  called  the  spiritualty,  now  being  usually  called  the 


230  English  Constitutional  Documents 

English  Church,  which  always  hath  been  reputed,  and  also  found 
of  that  sort,  that  both  for  knowledge,  integrity,  and  sufficiency  of 
number,  it  hath  been  always  thought,  and  is  also  at  this  hour, 
sufficient  and  meet  of  itself,  without  the  intermeddling  of  any 
exterior  person  or  persons,  to  declare  and  determine  all  such 
doubts,  and  to  administer  all  such  offices  and  duties,  as  to  their 
rooms  spiritual  doth  appertain ;  for  the  due  administration  whereof, 
and  to  keep  them  from  corruption  and  sinister  affection,  the  king's 
most  noble  progenitors,  and  the  antecessors  of  the  nobles  of  this 
realm,  have  sufficiently  endowed  the  said  Church,  both  with 
honour  and  possessions ;  and  the  laws  temporal,  for  trial  of  prop- 
erty of  lands  and  goods,  and  for  the  conservation  of  the  people  of 
this  realm  in  unity  and  peace,  without  rapine  or  spoil,  was  and  yet 
is  administered,  adjudged,  and  executed  by  sundry  judges  and 
ministers  of  the  other  part  of  the  said  body  politic,  called  the 
temporally ;  and  both  their  authorities  and  jurisdictions  do  con- 
join together  in  the  due  administration  of  justice,  the  one  to  help 
the  other. 

II.  And  whereas  the  king,  his  most  noble  progenitors,  and  the 
nobility  and  commons  of  this  said  realm,  at  divers  and  sundry 
parliaments,  as  well  as  in  the  time  of  King  Edward  I.,  Edward  III., 
Richard  II.,  Henry  IV.,  and  other  noble  kings  of  this  realm,  made 
sundry  ordinances,  laws,  statutes,  and  provisions  for  the  entire 
and  sure  conservation  of  the  prerogatives,  liberties,  and  pre-emi- 
nences of  the  said  imperial  crown  of  this  realm,  and  of  the  juris- 
diction spiritual  and  temporal  of  the  same,  to  keep  it  from  the 
annoyance  as  well  of  the  see  of  Rome,  as  from  the  authority  of 
other  foreign  potentates,  attempting  the  diminution  or  violation 
thereof,  as  often,  and  from  time  to  time,  as  any  such  annoyance  or 
attempt  might  be  known  or  espied  ; 

And  notwithstanding  the  said  good  statutes  and  ordinances 
made  in  the  time  of  the  king's  most  noble  progenitors,  in  preser- 
vation of  the  authority  and  prerogative  of  the  said  imperial  crown, 
as  is  aforesaid ;  yet  nevertheless  since  the  making  of  the  said  good 
statutes  and  ordinances,  divers  and  sundry  inconveniences  and 
dangers,  not  provided  for  plainly  by  the  said  former  acts,  statutes, 
and  ordinances,  have  arisen  and  sprung  by  reason  of  appeals  sued 
out  of  this  realm  to  the  see  of  Rome,  in  causes  testamentary, 
causes  of  matrimony  and  divorces,  right  of  tithes,  oblations  and 
obventions,  not  only  to  the  great  inquietation,  vexation,  trouble, 
cost  and  charges  of  the  king's  highness,  and  many  of  his  subjects 
and  residents  in  this  his  realm,  but  also  to  the  great  delay  and  let 
to  the  true  and  speedy  determination  of  the  said  causes,  for  so 


Act  in  Restraint  of  Appeals  231 

much  as  the  parties  appealing  to  the  said  Court  of  Rome  most 
commonly  do  the  same  for  the  delay  of  justice ; 

And  forasmuch  as  the  great  distance  of  way  is  so  far  out  of  this 
realm,  so  that  the  necessary  proofs,  nor  the  true  knowledge  of  the 
cause,  can  neither  there  be  so  well  known,  nor  the  witnesses  there 
so  well  examined,  as  within  this  realm,  so  that  the  parties  grieved 
by  means  of  the  said  appeals  be  most  times  without  remedy : 

In  consideration  whereof  the  king's  highness,  his  nobles  and 
commons,  considering  the  great  enormities,  dangers,  long  delays 
and  hurts,  that  as  well  to  his  highness,  as  to  his  said  nobles,  subjects, 
commons,  and  residents  of  this  his  realm,  in  the  said  causes  testa- 
mentary, causes  of  matrimony  and  divorces,  tithes,  oblations  and 
obventions,  do  daily  ensue,  does  therefore  by  his  royal  assent,  and 
by  the  assent  of  the  lords  spiritual  and  temporal,  and  the  com- 
mons, in  this  present  parliament  assembled,  and  by  authority  of 
the  same,  enact,  establish,  and  ordain,  that  all  causes  testamentary, 
causes  of  matrimony  and  divorces,  rights  of  tithes,  oblations  and 
obventions  (the  knowledge  whereof  by  the  goodness  of  princes  of 
this  realm,  and  by  the  laws  and  customs  of  tile  same,  appertained! 
to  the  spiritual  jurisdiction  of  this  realm)  already  commenced, 
moved,  depending,  being,  happening,  or  hereafter  coming  in  con- 
tention, debate,  or  question  within  this  realm,  or  within  any  the 
king's  dominions,  or  marches  of  the  same,  or  elsewhere,  whether 
they  concern  the  king  our  sovereign  lord,  his  heirs  and  successors, 
or  any  other  subjects  or  residents  within  the  same,  of  what  degree 
soever  they  be,  shall  be  from  henceforth  heard,  examined,  dis- 
cussed, clearly,  finally,  and  definitively  adjudged  and  determined 
within  the  king's  jurisdiction  and  authority,  and  not  elsewhere,  in 
such  courts  spiritual  and  temporal  of  the  same,  as  the  natures,  con- 
ditions, and  qualities  of  the  causes  and  matters  aforesaid  in  conten- 
tion, or  hereafter  happening  in  contention,  shall  require,  without 
having  any  respect  to  any  custom,  use,  or  sufferance,  in  hindrance, 
let,  ot  prejudice  of  the  same,  or  to  any  other  thing  used  or  suf- 
fered to  the  contrary  thereof  by  any  other  manner  of  person  or 
persons  in  any  manner  of  wise ;  any  foreign  inhibitions,  appeals, 
sentences,  summons,  citations,  suspensions,  interdictions,  excom- 
munications, restraints,  judgments,  or  any  other  process  or  imped- 
iments, of  what  natures,  names,  qualities,  or  conditions  soever  they 
be,  from  the  see  of  Rome,  or  any  other  foreign  courts  or  poten- 
tates of  the  world,  or  from  and  out  of  this  realm,  or  any  other  the 
king's  dominions,  or  marches  of  the  same,  to  the  see  of  Rome,  or 
to  any  other  foreign  courts  or  potentates,  to  the  let  or  impediment 
thereof  in  any  wise  notwithstanding. 


23  2  English  Constitutional  Documents 

And  that  it  shall  be  lawful  to  the  king  our  sovereign  lord, 
and  to  his  heirs  and  successors,  and  to  all  other  subjects  or  resi- 
dents within  this  realm,  or  within  any  the  king's  dominions,  or 
marches  of  the  same,  notwithstanding  that  hereafter  it  should 
happen  any  excommengement,  excommunications,  interdictions, 
citations,  or  any  other  censures,  or  foreign  process  out  of  any 
outward  parts,  to  be  fulminate,  promulged,  declared,  or  put  in 
execution  within  this  said  realm,  or  in  any  other  place  or  places, 
for  any  of  the  causes  before  rehearsed,  in  prejudice,  derogation, 
or  contempt  of  this  said  Act,  and  the  very  true  meaning  and  exe- 
cution thereof,  may  and  shall  nevertheless  as  well  pursue,  exe- 
cute, have,  and  enjoy  the  effects,  profits,  benefits,  and  commodities 
of  all  such  processes,  sentences,  judgments,  and  determinations 
done,  or  hereafter  to  be  done,  in  any  of  the  said  courts  spiritual 
or  temporal,  as  the  cases  shall  require,  within  the  limits,  power, 
and  authority  of  this  the  king's  said  realm,  and  dominions  and 
marches  of  the  same,  and  those  only,  and  none  other  to  take 
place,  and  to  be  firmly  observed  and  obeyed  within  the  same. 

X.  And  if  it  shall  happen  any  person  or  persons  hereafter  to 
pursue  or  provoke  any  appeal  contrary  to  the  effect  of  this  Act, 
or  refuse  to  obey,  execute,  and  observe  all  things  comprised  with- 
in the  same,  concerning  the  said  appeals,  provocations,  and  other 
foreign  processes  to  be  sued  out  of  this  realm,  for  any  the  causes 
aforesaid,  that  then  every  such  person  or  persons  so  doing,  refus- 
ing, or  offending  contrary  to  the  true  meaning  of  this  Act,  their 
procurers,  fautors,  advocates,  counsellors,  and  abettors,  and  every 
of  them,  shall  incur  into  the  pains,  forfeitures,  and  penalties 
ordained  and  provided  in  the  said  statute  made  in  the  said  six- 
teenth year  of  King  Richard  II.,  and  with  like  process  to  be  made 
against  the  said  offenders,  as  in  the  same  statute  made  in  the  said 
sixteenth  year  more  plainly  appeareth. 


146.    Ecclesiastical  Appointments  Act 

(1534.  25  Henry  VIII.  c.  20.  3  S,  R.  462.  The  whole  act,  "  The  Absolute 
Restraint  of  Annates,  Election  of  Bishops,  and  Letters  Missive  Act,"  re- 
printed in  G.  and  H.  201-209.) 

IV.   AND  furthermore  be  it  ordained  and  established  by  the 
authority  aforesaid,  that  at  every  avoidance  of  every  archbishopric 


Ecclesiastical  Appointments  Act  233 

or  bishopric  within  this  realm,  or  in  any  other  the  king's  domin- 
ions, the  king  our  sovereign  lord,  his  heirs  and  successors,  may 
grant  to  the  prior  and  convent,  or  the  dean  and  chapter  of  the 
cathedral  churches  or  monasteries  where  the  see  of  such  arch- 
bishopric or  bishopric  shall  happen  to  be  void,  a  licence  under  the 
great  seal,  as  of  old  time  has  been  accustomed,  to  proceed  to 
election  of  an  archbishop  or  bishop  of  the  see  so  being  void,  with 
a  letter  missive,  containing  the  name  of  the  person  which  they 
shall  elect  and  choose :  by  virtue  of  which  licence  the  said  dean 
and  chapter,  or  prior  and  convent,  to  whom  any  such  licence  and 
letters  missive  shall  be  directed,  shall  with  all  speed  and  celerity 
in  due  form  elect  and  choose  the  same  person  named  in  the  said 
letters  missive,  to  the  dignity  and  office  of  the  archbishopric  or 
bishopric  so  being  void,  and  none  other. 

And  if  they  do  defer  or  delay  their  election  above  twelve  days 
next  after  such  licence  and  letters  missive  to  them  delivered, 
that  then  for  every  such  default  the  king's  highness,  his  heirs  and 
successors,  at  their  liberty  and  pleasure  shall  nominate  and  pre- 
sent, by  their  letters  patent  under  their  great  seal,  such  a  person  to 
the  said  office  and  dignity  so  being  void,  as  they  shall  think  able 
and  convenient  for  the  same. 

And  that  every  such  nomination  and  presentment  to  be  made 
by  the  king's  highness,  his  heirs  and  successors,  if  it  be  to  the 
office  and  dignity  of  a  bishop,  shall  be  made  to  the  archbishop 
and  metropolitan  of  the  province  where  the  see  of  the  same 
bishopric  is  void,  if  the  see  of  the  said  archbishopric  be  then  full, 
and  not  void ;  and  if  it  be  void,  then  to  be  made  to  such  arch- 
bishop or  metropolitan  within  this  realm,  or  in  any  the  king's 
dominions,  as  shall  please  the  king's  highness,  his  heirs  or  suc- 
cessors :  and  if  any  such  nomination  or  presentment  shall  happen 
to  be  made  for  default  of  such  election  to  the  dignity  or  office  of 
any  archbishop,  then  the  king's  highness,  his  heirs  and  successors, 
by  his  letters  patent  under  his  great  seal,  shall  nominate  and 
present  such  person,  as  they  will  dispose  to  have  the  said  office 
and  dignity  of  archbishopric  being  void,  to  one  such  archbishop 
and  two  such  bishops,  or  else  to  four  such  bishops  within  this 
realm,  or  in  any  of  the  king's  dominions,  as  shall  be  assigned  by 
our  said  sovereign  lord,  his  heirs  or  successors. 

V.  And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  that 
whensoever  any  such  presentment  or  nomination  shall  be  made  by 
the  king's  highness,  his  heirs  or  successors,  by  virtue  and  authority 
of  this  Act,  and  according  to  the  tenor  of  the  same  ;  that  then  every 
archbishop  and  bishop,  to  whose  hands  any  such  presentment  and 


234  English  Constitutional  Documents 

nomination  shall  be  directed,  shall  with  all  speed  and  celerity 
invest  and  consecrate  the  person  nominate  and  presented  by  the 
•king's  highness,  his  heirs  or  successors,  to  the  office  and  dignity 
that  such  person  shall  be  so  presented  unto,  and  give  and  use  to 
him  pall,  and  all  other  benedictions,  ceremonies,  and  things 
requisite  for  the  same,  without  suing,  procuring,  or  obtaining 
hereafter  any  bulls  or  other  things  at  the  see  of  Rome,  for  any 
such  office  or  dignity  in  any  behalf. 

And  if  the  said  dean  and  chapter,  or  prior  and  convent,  after 
such  licence  and  letters  missive  to  them  directed,  within  the 
said  twelve  days  do  elect  and  choose  the  said  person  mentioned 
in  the  said  letters  missive,  according  to  the  request  of  the  king's 
highness,  his  heirs  or  successors,  thereof  to  be  made  by  the  said 
letters  missive  in  that  behalf,  then  their  election  shall  stand  good 
and  effectual  to  all  intents. 


VII.  And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  that 
if  the  prior  and  convent  of  any  monastery,  or  dean  and  chapter  of 
any  cathedral  church,  where  the  see  of  any  archbishop  or  bishop  is, 
within  any  of  the  king's  dominions,  after  such  licence  as  is  afore 
rehearsed,  shall  be  delivered  to  them,  proceed  not  to  election,  and 
signify  the  same  according  to  the  tenor  of  this  Act,  within  the 
space  of  twenty  days  next  after  such  licence  shall  come  to  their 
hands  ;  or  else  if  any  archbishop  or  bishop,  within  any  the  king's 
dominions,  after  any  such  election,  nomination,  or  presentation 
shall  be  signified  unto  them  by  the  king's  letters  patent,  shall 
refuse,  and  do  not  confirm,  invest,  and  consecrate  with  all  due 
circumstance  as  is  aforesaid,  every  such  person  as  shall  be  so 
elected,  nominate,  or  presented,  and  to  them  signified  as  is  above 
mentioned,  within  twenty  days  next  after  the  king's  letters  patent 
of  such  signification  or  presentation  shall  come  to  their  hands ;  or 
else  if  any  of  them,  or  any  other  person  or  persons,  admit,  main- 
tain, allow,  obey,  do  or  execute  any  censures,  excommunications, 
interdictions,  inhibitions,  or  any  other  process  or  act,  of  what  nature, 
name,  or  quality  soever  it  be,  to  the  contrary,  or  let  of  due  execu- 
tion of  this  Act ;  that  then  every  prior  and  particular  person  of  his 
convent,  and  every  dean  and  particular  person  of  the  chapter,  and 
every  archbishop  and  bishop,  and  all  other  persons,  so  offending 
and  doing  contrary  to  this  Act,  or  any  part  thereof,  and  their  aiders, 
counsellors,  and  abetters,  shall  run  into  the  dangers,  pains,  and 
penalties  of  the  Statute  of  the  Provision  and  Praemunire,  made  in 


The  First  Act  of  Succession  235 

the  five-and-twentieth  year  of  the  reign  of  King  Edward  III.,  and 
in  the  sixteenth  year  of  King  Richard  II. 


147.    The  First  Act  of  Succession 

(1534.     25  Henry  VIII.  c.  22.     3  5.  X.  471.    The  whole  act  reprinted  in  G. 
and  H.  232-243.) 

IN  their  most  humble  wise  shown  unto  your  majesty  your  most 
humble  and  obedient  subjects,  the  lords  spiritual  and  temporal 
and  the  commons  in  this  present  Parliament  assembled,  that  since 
it  is  the  natural  inclination  of  every  man  gladly  and  willingly  to 
provide  for  the  surety  of  both  his  title  and  succession,  although  it 
touch  only  his  private  cause ;  we  therefore,  most  rightful  *and 
dreadful  sovereign  lord,  reckon  ourselves  much  more  bound  to 
beseech  and  instant  your  highness  (although  we  doubt  not  of  your 
princely  heart  and  wisdom,  mixed  with  a  natural  affection  to  the 
same)  to  foresee  and  provide  for  the  perfect  surety  of  both  you, 
and  of  your  most  lawful  succession  and  heirs,  upon  which  depend- 
eth  all  our  joy  and  wealth,  in  whom  also  is  united  and  knit  the 
only  mere  true  inheritance  and  title  of  this  realm,  without  any  con- 
tradiction ; 

Wherefore  we  your  said  most  humble  and  obedient  subjects, 
in  this  present  Parliament  assembled,  calling  to  our  remembrance 
the  great  divisions  which  in  times  past  have  been  in  this  realm,  by 
reason  of  several  titles  pretended  to  the  imperial  crown  of  the 
same,  which  sometimes,  and  for  the  most  part  ensued,  by  occa- 
sion of  ambiguity  and  doubts,  then  not  so  perfectly  declared,  but 
that  men  might,  upon  froward  intents,  expound  them  to  every 
man's  sinister  appetite  and  affection,  after  their  sense,  contrary  to 
the  right  legality  of  the  succession  and  posterity  of  the  lawful  kings 
and  emperors  of  this  realm ;  whereof  hath  ensued  great  effusion 
and  destruction  of  man's  blood,  as  well  of  a  great  number  of  the 
nobles,  as  of  other  the  subjects,  and  especially  inheritors  in  the 
same ;  and  the  greatest  occasion  thereof  hath  been  because  no 
perfect  and  substantial  provision  by  law  hath  been  made  within 
this  realm  of  itself,  when  doubts  and  questions  have  been  moved 
and  proponed,  of  the  certainty  and  legality  of  the  succession  and 
posterity  of  the  crown;  by  reason  whereof  the  Bishop  of  Rome 
and  See  Apostolic,  contrary  to  the  great  and  inviolable  grants  of 
jurisdictions  given  by  God  immediately  to  emperors,  kings  and 
princes,  in  succession  to  their  heirs,  has  presumed,  in  times  past, 


236  English  Constitutional  Documents 

to  invest  who  should  please  them,  to  inherit  in  other  men's  king- 
doms and  dominions,  which  thing  we,  your  most  humble  subjects, 
both  spiritual  and  temporal,  do  utterly  abhor  and  detest ;  and  some- 
times other  foreign  princes  and  potentates  of  sundry  degrees, 
minding  rather  dissension  and  discord  to  continue  in  the  realm,  to 
the  utter  desolation  thereof,  than  charity,  equity,  or  unity,  have 
many  times  supported  wrong  titles,  whereby  they  might  the  more 
easily  and  facilely  aspire  to  the  superiority  of  the  same ;  the  con- 
tinuance and  sufferance  whereof,  deeply  considered  and  pondered, 
were  too  dangerous  and  perilous  to  be  suffered  any  longer  within 
this  realm,  and  too  much  contrary  to  the  unity,  peace,  and  tran- 
quillity of  the  same,  being  greatly  reproachable  and  dishonourable 
to  the  whole  realm  : 

II.  In  consideration  whereof,  your  said  most  humble  and  obe- 
dient subjects,  the  nobles  and  commons  of  this  realm,  calling 
further  to  their  remembrance  that  the  good  unity,  peace,  and 
wealth  of  this  realm,  and  the  succession  of  the  subjects  of  the 
same,  most  especially  and  principally  above  all  worldly  things 
consists  and  rests  in  the  certainty  and  surety  of  the  procreation 
and  posterity  of  your  highness,  in  whose  most  royal  person,  at  this 
present  time,  is  no  manner  of  doubt  nor  question ;  do  therefore 
most  humbly  beseech  your  highness,  that  it  may  please  your 
majesty,  that  it  may  be  enacted  by  your  highness,  with  the  assent 
of  the  lords  spiritual  and  temporal,  and  the  commons,  in  this 
present  Parliament  assembled,  and  by  the  authority  of  the  same, 
that  the  marriage  heretofore  solemnized  between  your  highness 
and  the  Lady  Katherine,  being  before  lawful  wife  to  Prince 
Arthur,  your  elder  brother,  which  by  him  was  carnally  known,  as 
doth  duly  appear  by  sufficient  proof  in  a  lawful  process  had  and 
made  before  Thomas,  by  the  sufferance  of  God,  now  archbishop 
of  Canterbury  and  metropolitan  and  primate  of  all  this  realm, 
shall  be,  by  authority  of  this  present  Parliament,  definitively, 
clearly,  and  absolutely  declared,  deemed,  and  adjudged  to  be 
against  the  laws  of  Almighty  God,  and  also  accepted,  reputed, 
and  taken  of  no  value  nor  effect,  but  utterly  void  and  annulled,  and 
the  separation  thereof,  made  by  the  said  archbishop,  shall  be 
good  and  effectual  to  all  intents  and  purposes ;  any  licence,  dis- 
pensation, or  any  other  act  or  acts  going  afore,  or  ensuing  the 
same,  or  to  the  contrary  thereof,  in  any  wise  notwithstanding ;  and 
that  every  such  licence,  dispensation,  act  or  acts,  thing  or  things 
heretofore  had,  made,  done,  or  to  be  done  to  the  contrary  there- 
of, shall  be  void  and  of  none  effect ;  and  that  the  said  Lady 
Katherine  shall  be  from  henceforth  called  and  reputed  only  dow- 


The  First  Act  of  Succession  237 

ager  to  Prince  Arthur,  and  not  queen  of  this  realm ;  and  that  the 
lawful  matrimony  had  and  solemnized  between  your  highness  and 
your  most  dear  and  entirely  beloved  wife  Queen  Anne  shall  be 
established,  and  taken  for  undoubtful,  true,  sincere,  and  perfect 
ever  hereafter,  according  to  the  just  judgment  of  the  said  Thomas, 
archbishop  of  Canterbury,  metropolitan  and  primate  of  all  this 
realm,  whose  grounds  of  judgment  have  been  confirmed,  as  well 
by  the  whole  clergy  of  this  realm  in  both  the  Convocations,  and 
by  both  the  universities  thereof,  as  by  the  universities  of  Bologna, 
Padua,  Paris,  Orleans,  Toulouse,  Angers,  and  divers  others,  and  also 
by  the  private  writings  of  many  right  excellent  well-learned  men  ; 
which  grounds  so  confirmed,  and  judgment  of  the  said  archbishop 
ensuing  the  same,  together  with  your  marriage  solemnized  between 
your  highness  and  your  said  lawful  wife  Queen  Anne,  we  your 
said  subjects,  both  spiritual  and  temporal,  do  purely,  plainly,  con- 
stantly, and  firmly  accept,  approve,  and  ratify  for  good  and 
consonant  to  the  laws  of  Almighty  God,  without  error  or  default, 
most  humbly  beseeching  your  majesty,  that  it  may  be  so  estab- 
lished for  ever  by  your  most  gracious  and  royal  assent. 


VI.  And  also  be  it  enacted  by  authority  aforesaid,  that  all  the 
issue  had  and  procreated,  or  hereafter  to  be  had  and  procreated, 
between  your  highness  and  your  said  most  dear  and  entirely  beloved 
wife  Queen  Anne,  shall  be  your  lawful  children,  and  be  inheritable, 
and  inherit,  according  to  the  course  of  inheritance  and  laws  of  this 
realm,  the  imperial  crown  of  the  same,  with  all  dignities,  honours, 
pre-eminences,  prerogatives,  authorities,  and  jurisdictions  to  the 
same  annexed  or  belonging,  in  as  large  and  ample  manner  as  your 
highness  at  this  present  time  has  the  same  as  king  of  this  realm ; 
the  inheritance  thereof  to  be  and  remain  to  your  said  children  and 
right  heirs  in  manner  and  form  as  hereafter  shall  be  declared,  that 
is  to  say : 

VII.  First  the  said  imperial  crown,  and  other  the  premises,  shall 
be  to  your  majesty,  and  to  your  heirs  of  your  body  lawfully  begotten, 
that  is  to  say  :  to  the  first  son  of  your  body,  between  your  highness 
and  your  said  lawful  wife,  Queen  Anne,  begotten,  and  to  the  heirs 
of  the  body  of  the  same  first  son  lawfully  begotten,  and  for  default  of 
such  heirs,  then  to  the  second  son  of  your  body  and  of  the  body 
of  the  said  Queen  Anne  begotten,  and  to  the  heirs  of  the  body  of 
the  said  second  son  lawfully  begotten,  and  so  to  every  son  of  your 
body  and  of  the  body  of  the  said  Queen  Anne  begotten,  and  to 
the  heirs  of  the  body  of  every  such  son  begotten,  according  to  the 


238  English  Constitutional  Documents 

course  of  inheritance  in  that  behalf;  and  if  it  shall  happen  your 
said  dear  and  entirely  beloved  wife  Queen  Anne  to  decease  with- 
out issue  male  of  the  body  of  your  highness  to  be  begotten  (which 
God  defend),  then  the  same  imperial  crown,  and  all  other  the 
premises,  to  be  to  your  majesty,  as  is  aforesaid,  and  to  the  son  and 
heir  male  of  your  body  lawfully  begotten,  and  to  the  heirs  of  the 
body  of  the  same  son  and  heir  male  lawfully  begotten ;  and  for 
default  of  such  issue,  then  to  your  second  son  of  your  body  law- 
fully begotten,  and  to  the  heirs  of  the  body  of  the  same  second 
son  lawfully  begotten,  and  so  from  son  and  heir  male  to  son  and 
heir  male,  and  to  the  heirs  of  the  several  bodies  of  every  such  son 
and  heir  male  to  be  begotten,  according  to  the  course  of  inherit- 
ance, in  like  manner  and  form  as  is  above  said. 

And  for  default  of  such  sons  of  your  body  begotten,  and  of  the 
heirs  of  the  several  bodies  of  such  sons  lawfully  begotten,  that 
then  the  said  imperial  crown,  and  other  the  premises,  shall  be  to 
the  issue  female  between  your  majesty  and  your  said  most  dear 
and  entirely  beloved  wife,  Queen  Anne,  begotten,  that  is  to  say : 
first  to  the  eldest  issue  female,  which  is  the  Lady  Elizabeth,  now 
princess,  and  to  the  heirs  of  her  body  lawfully  begotten,  and  for 
default  of  such  issue,  then  to  the  second  issue  female,  and  to  the 
heirs  of  her  body  lawfully  begotten,  and  so  from  issue  female  to 
issue  female,  and  to  the  heirs  of  their  bodies  one  after  another, 
by  course  of  inheritance,  according  to  their  ages,  as  the  crown  of 
England  has  been  accustomed,  and  ought  to  go,  in  cases  where 
there  be  heirs  female  to  the  same ;  and  for  default  of  such  issue, 
then  the  said  imperial  crown,  and  all  other  the  premises,  shall  be 
in  the  right  heirs  of  your  highness  for  ever. 


XIII.  And  for  the  more  sure  establishment  of  the  succession 
of  your  most  royal  majesty,  according  to  the  tenor  and  form  of 
this  Act,  be  it  further  enacted  by  authority  aforesaid,  that  as  well 
all  the  nobles  of  your  realm  spiritual  and  temporal,  as  all  other 
your  subjects  now  living  and  being,  or  which  hereafter  shall  be,  at 
their  full  ages,  by  the  commandment  of  your  majesty  or  of  your 
heirs,  at  all  times  hereafter  from  time  to  time,  when  it  shall  please 
your  highness  or  your  heirs  to  appoint,  shall  make  a  corporal  oath 
in  the  presence  of  your  highness  or  your  heirs,  or  before  such 
others  as  your  majesty  or  your  heirs  will  depute  for  the  same,  that 
they  shall  truly,  firmly,  and  constantly,  without  fraud  or  guile, 
observe,  fulfil,  maintain,  defend,  and  keep,  to  their  cunning,  wit, 
and  uttermost  of  their  powers,  the  whole  effects  and  contents  of 


Act  of  Supremacy  of  Henry  VIII          239 

this  present  Act.  And  that  all  manner  your  subjects,  as  well 
spiritual  as  temporal,  suing  livery,  restitutions,  or  ouster  If  main 
out  of  the  hands  of  your  highness  or  of  your  heirs,  or  doing  any 
fealty  to  your  highness  or  to  your  heirs,  by  reason  of  tenure  of 
their  lands,  shall  swear  a  like  corporal  oath,  that  they  and  every 
of  them,  without  fraud  or  guile,  to  their  cunning,  wit,  and  utter- 
most of  their  powers,  shall  truly,  firmly,  and  constantly  observe, 
fulfil,  maintain,  defend,  and  keep  the  effects  and  contents  con- 
tained and  specified  in  this  Act,  or  in  any  part  thereof;  and  that 
they,  nor  any  of  them,  shall  hereafter  have  any  liveries,  ouster  le 
main,  or  restitution  out  of  your  hands,  nor  out  of  the  hands  of  your 
heirs,  till  they  have  made  the  said  corporal  oath  in  form  above 
rehearsed.  And  if  any  person  or  persons,  being  commanded  by 
authority  of  this  Act  to  make  the  said  oath  afore  limited,  obstinately 
refuse  that  to  do,  in  contempt  of  this  Act,  that  then  every  such 
person  so  doing,  to  be  taken  and  accepted  for  offender  in  mis- 
prision  of  high  treason ;  and  that  every  such  refusal  shall  be 
deemed  and  adjudged  misprision  of  high  treason ;  and  the 
offender  therein  to  suffer  such  pains  and  imprisonment,  losses 
and  forfeitures,  and  also  lose  privileges  of  sanctuaries,  in  like 
manner  and  form  as  is  above  mentioned  for  the  misprisions  of 
treasons  afore  limited  by  this  Act. 


148.  Act  of  Supremacy  of  Henry  VIII 

(1534.     26  Henry  VIII.  c.  I.     3  S.  R.  492.     G.  and  H.  243-244.) 

ALBEIT  the  king's  majesty  justly  and  rightfully  is  and  ought  to 
be  the  supreme  head  of  the  Church  of  England,  and  so  is 
recognized  by  the  clergy  of  this  realm  in  their  Convocations,  yet 
nevertheless  for  corroboration  and  confirmation  thereof,  and  for 
increase  of  virtue  in  Christ's  religion  within  this  realm  of  England, 
and  to  repress  and  extirp  all  errors,  heresies,  and  other  enormities 
and  abuses  heretofore  used  in  the  same  :  be  it  enacted  by  authority 
of  this  present  Parliament,  that  the  king  our  sovereign  lord,  his 
heirs  and  successors,  kings  of  this  realm,  shall  be  taken,  accepted, 
and  reputed  the  only  supreme  head  in  earth  of  the  Church  of 
England,  called  Anglicana  Ecclesia;  and  shall  have  and  enjoy, 
annexed  and  united  to  the  imperial  crown  of  this  realm,  as  well 
the  title  and  style  thereof,  as  all  honours,  dignities,  pre- 


240          English  Constitutional  Documents 

eminences,  jurisdictions,  privileges,  authorities,  immunities,  profits, 
and  commodities  to  the  said  dignity  of  supreme  head  of  the  same 
Church  belonging  and  appertaining ;  and  that  our  said  sovereign 
lord,  his  heirs  and  successors,  kings  of  this  realm,  shall  have  full 
power  and  authority  from  time  to  time  to  visit,  repress,  redress, 
reform,  order,  correct,  restrain,  and  amend  all  such  errors,  heresies, 
abuses,  offences,  contempts,  and  enormities,  whatsoever  they  be, 
which  by  any  manner  spiritual  authority  or  jurisdiction  ought  or 
may  lawfully  be  reformed,  repressed,  ordered,  redressed,  corrected, 
restrained,  or  amended,  most  to  the  pleasure  of  Almighty  God, 
the  increase  of  virtue  in  Christ's  religion,  and  for  the  conservation 
of  the  peace,  unity,  and  tranquillity  of  this  realm ;  any  usage, 
custom,  foreign  law,  foreign  authority,  prescription,  or  any  other 
thing  or  things  to  the  contrary  hereof  notwithstanding. 


149.  The  Treasons  Act 

(1534.     26  Henry  VIII.  c.  13.     3  S.  R.  508.     G.  and  H.  247-250.) 

FORASMUCH  as  it  is  most  necessary,  both  for  common  policy 
and  duty  of  subjects,  above  all  things  to  prohibit,  provide, 
restrain,  and  extinct  all  manner  of  shameful  slanders,  perils,  or 
imminent  danger  or  dangers,  which  might  grow,  happen,  or  rise 
to  their  sovereign  lord  the  king,  the  queen,  or  their  heirs,  which 
when  they  be  heard,  seen,  or  understood,  cannot  be  but  odible, 
and  also  abhorred  of  all  those  sorts  that  be  true  and  loving 
subjects,  if  in  any  point  they  may  do,  or  shall  touch  the  king,  his 
queen,  their  heirs  or  successors,  upon  which  dependeth  the  whole 
unity  and  universal  weal  of  this  realm,  without  providing  wherefore 
too  great  a  scope  of  unreasonable  liberty  should  be  given  to  all 
cankered  and  traitorous  hearts,  willers  and  workers  of  the  same  ; 
and  also  the  king's  loving  subjects  should  not  declare  unto  their 
sovereign  lord  now  being,  which  unto  them  has  been,  and  is  most 
entirely  both  beloved  and  esteemed,  their  undoubted  sincerity 
and  truth. 

II.  Be  it  therefore  enacted  by  the  assent  and  consent  of  our 
sovereign  lord  the  king,  and  the  lords  spiritual  and  temporal, 
and  commons  in  this  present  Parliament  assembled,  and  by  the 
authority  of  the  same,  that  if  any  person  or  persons,  after  the  first 
day  of  February  next  coming,  do  maliciously  wish,  will,  or  desire, 
by  words  or  writing,  or  by  craft  imagine,  invent,  practise,  or 


The  Treasons  Act  241 

attempt  any  bodily  harm  to  be  done  or  committed  to  the  king's 
most  royal  person,  the  queen's,  or  their  heirs  apparent,  or  to 
deprive  them  or  any  of  them  of  their  dignity,  title,  or  name  of 
their  royal  estates,  or  slanderously  and  maliciously  publish  and  pro- 
nounce, by  express  writing  or  words,  that  the  king  our  sovereign 
lord  should  be  heretic,  schismatic,  tyrant,  infidel  or  usurper  of  the 
crown,  or  rebelliously  do  detain,  keep,  or  withhold  from  our  said 
sovereign  lord,  his  heirs  or  successors,  any  of  his  or  their  castles 
fortresses,  fortalices,  or  holds  within  .this  realm,  or  in  any  other 
the  king's  dominions  or  marches,  or  rebelliously  detain,  keep,  or 
withhold  from  the  king's  said  highness,  his  heirs  or  successors,  any 
of  his  or  their  ships,  ordnances,  artillery,  or  other  munitions  or 
fortifications  of  war,  and  do  not  humbly  render  and  give  up  to  our 
said  sovereign  lord,  his  heirs  or  successors,  or  to  such  persons  as 
shall  be  deputed  by  them,  such  castles,  fortresses,  fortalices,  holds, 
ships,  ordnances,  artillery,  and  other  munitions  and  fortifications 
of  war,  rebelliously  kept  or  detained,  within  six  days  next  after 
they  shall  be  commanded  by  our  said  sovereign  lord,  his  heirs  or 
successors,  by  open  proclamation  under  the  great  seal : 

That  then  every  such  person  and  persons  so  offending  in  any 
the  premises,  after  the  said  first  day  of  February,  their  aiders, 
counsellors,  consenters,  and  abettors,  being  thereof  lawfully  con- 
victed according  to  the  laws  and  customs  of  this  realm,  shall  be 
adjudged  traitors,  and  that  every  such  offence  in  any  the  premises, 
that  shall  be  committed  or  done  after  the  said  first  day  of  Febru- 
ary, shall  be  reputed,  accepted,  and  adjudged  high  treason,  and 
the  offenders  therein  and  their  aiders,  consenters,  counsellors, 
and  abettors,  being  lawfully  convicted  of  any  such  offence  as  is 
aforesaid,  shall  have  and  suffer  such  pains  of  death  and  other 
penalties,  as  is  limited  and  accustomed  in  cases  of  high  treason. 

III.  And  to  the  intent  that  all  treasons  should  be  the  more 
dread,  hated  and  detested  to  be  done  by  any  person  or  persons, 
and  also  because  it  is  a  great  boldness  and  an  occasion  to  ill-dis- 
posed persons,  to  adventure  and  embrace  their  malicious  intents 
and  enterprises,  which  all  true  subjects  ought  to  study  to  eschew : 
be    it   therefore   enacted   by   the   authority  aforesaid,  that  none 
offender  in  any  kinds  of  high  treasons  whatsoever  they  be,  their 
aiders,  consenters,  counsellors,  nor  abettors,  shall  be  admitted  to 
have  the  benefit  or  privilege  of  any  manner  of  sanctuary,  consid- 
ering that  matters  of  treasons  touch  so  nigh  both  the  surety  of  the 
king  our  sovereign  lord's  person,  and  his  heirs  and  successors. 

IV.  And  over  that,  be  it  enacted  by  authority  aforesaid,  that  if 
any  of  the  king's  subjects,  denizens  or  other,  do  commit  or  prac- 


1^.1  English  Constitutional  Documents 

tise  out  of  the  limits  of  this  realm,  in  any  outward  parts,  any  such 
offences,  which  by  this  Act  are  made,  or  heretofore  have  been  made 
treason,  that  then  such  treasons,  whatsoever  they  be,  or  wheresoever 
they  shall  happen  so  to  be  done  or  committed,  shall  be  inquired  and 
presented  by  the  oaths  of  twelve  good  and  lawful  men,  upon  good 
and  probable  evidence  and  witness,  in  such  shire  and  county  of  this 
realm,  and  before  such  persons  as  it  shall  please  the  king's  highness 
to  appoint  by  commission  under  his  great  seal,  in  like  manner  and 
form  as  treasons  committed  within  this  realm  have  been  used  to 
be  inquired  of  and  presented ;  and  that  upon  every  indictment 
and  presentment  found  and  made  of  any  such  treasons,  and  certi- 
fied into  the  King's  Bench,  like  process  and  other  circumstance 
shall  be  there  had  and  made  against  the  offenders,  as  if  the  same 
treasons,  so  presented,  had  been  lawfully  found  to  be  done  and 
committed  within  the  limits  of  this  realm.  And  that  all  process 
of  outlawry  hereafter  to  be  made  and  had  within  this  realm  against 
any  offenders  in  treason,  being  resident  or  inhabited  out  of  the 
limits  of  this  realm,  or  in  any  of  the  parts  beyond  the  sea,  at 
the  time  of  the  outlawry  pronounced  against  them,  shall  be  as 
good  and  as  effectual  in  the  law  to  all  intents  and  purposes,  as  if 
such  offenders  had  been  resident  and  dwelling  within  this  realm  at 
the  time  of  such  process  awarded,  and  outlawry  pronounced. 

V.  And  be  it  further  enacted  by  authority  aforesaid,  that  every 
offender  and  offenders,  being  hereafter  lawfully  convicted  of  any 
manner  of  high  treasons,  by  presentment,  confession,  verdict  or 
process  of  outlawry,  according  to  the  due  course  and  custom  of 
the  common  laws  of  this  realm,  shall  lose  and  forfeit  to  the  king's 
highness,  his  heirs  and  successors,  all  such  lands,  tenements,  and 
hereditaments,  which  any  such  offender  or  offenders  shall  have  of 
any  estate  of  inheritance  in  use  or  possession,  by  any  right,  title, 
or  means,  within  this  realm  of  England,  or  elsewhere,  within  any 
of  the  king's  dominions,  at  the  time  of  any  such  treason  com- 
mitted, or  any  time  after ;  saving  to  every  person  and  persons, 
their  heirs  and  successors  (other  than  the  offenders  in  any  trea- 
sons, their  heirs  and  successors,  and  such  person  and  persons  as 
claim  to  any  their  uses,)  all  such  rights,  titles,  interests,  posses- 
sions, leases,  rents,  offices,  and  other  profits,  which  they  shall 
have  at  the  day  of  committing  such  treasons,  or  any  time  afore,  in 
as  large  and  ample  manner  as  if  this  Act  had  never  been  had  nor 
made. 


Act  for  Dissolution  of  Lesser  Monasteries     243 


150.    Act  for  the  Dissolution  of  the  Lesser 
Monasteries 

(1536.    27  Henry  VIIL  c.  28.    35.  R.  575.    The  whole  act  reprinted  in 
G.  and  H.  257-268.) 

PRASMUCH  as  manifest  sin,  vicious,  carnal  and  abominable 
living  is  daily  used  and  committed  among  the  little  and 
small  abbeys,  priories,  and  other  religious  houses  of  monks,  canons, 
and  nuns,  where  the  congregation  of  such  religious  persons  is 
under  the  number  of  twelve  persons,  whereby  the  governors  of 
such  religious  houses,  and  their  convent,  spoil,  destroy,  consume, 
and  utterly  waste,  as  well  their  churches,  monasteries,  priories, 
principal  nouses,  farms,  granges,  lands,  tenements,  and  heredita- 
ments, as  the  ornaments  of  their  churches,  and  their  goods  and 
chattels,  to  the  high  displeasure  of  Almighty  God,  slander  of  good 
religion,  and  to  the  great  infamy  of  the  king's  highness  and  the 
realm,  if  redress  should  not  be  had  thereof.  And  albeit  that 
many  continual  visitations  hath  been  heretofore  had,  by  the  space 
of  two  hundred  years  and  more,  for  an  honest  and  charitable 
reformation  of  such  unthrifty,  carnal,  and  abominable  living,  yet 
nevertheless  little  or  none  amendment  is  hitherto  had,  but  their 
vicious  living  shamelessly  increases  and  augments,  and  by  a  cursed 
custom  so  rooted  and  infected,  that  a  great  multitude  of  the  reli- 
gious persons  in  such  small  houses  do  rather  choose  to  rove 
abroad  in  apostasy,  than  to  conform  themselves  to  the  observation 
of  good  religion  ;  so  that  without  such  small  houses  be  utterly 
suppressed,  and  the  religious  persons  therein  committed  to  great 
and  honourable  monasteries  of  religion  in  this  realm,  where  they 
may  be  compelled  to  live  religiously,  for  reformation  of  their  lives, 
there  can  else  be  no  redress  nor  reformation  in  that  behalf: 

In  consideration  whereof,  the  king's  most  royal  majesty  — 
being  supreme  head  on  earth,  under  God,  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land, daily  studying  and  devising  the  increase,  advancement,  and 
exaltation  of  true  doctrine  and  virtue  in  the  said  Church,  to  the 
only  glory  and  honour  of  God,  and  the  total  extirping  and  destruc- 
tion of  vice  and  sin,  having  knowledge  that  the  premises  be  true, 
as  well  by  the  accounts  of  his  late  visitations,  as  by  sundry  credible 
informations,  considering  also  that  divers  and  great  solemn  mon- 
asteries of  this  realm,  wherein  (thanks  be  to  God)  religion  is 
right  well  kept  and  observed,  be  destitute  of  such  full  numbers  of 


,244  English  Constitutional  Documents 

religious  persons,  as  they  ought  and  may  keep  —  has  thought  good 
that  a  plain  declaration  should  be  made  of  the  premises,  as  well 
to  the  lords  spiritual  and  temporal,  as  to  other  his  loving  subjects, 
the  commons,  in  this  present  Parliament  assembled  :  whereupon 
the  said  lords  and  commons,  by  a  great  deliberation,  finally  be 
resolved,  that  it  is  and  shall  be  much  more  to  the  pleasure  of 
Almighty  God,  and  for  the  honour  of  this  his  realm,  that  the  pos- 
sessions of  such  small  religious  houses,  now  being  spent,  spoiled, 
and  wasted  for  increase  and  maintenance  of  sin,  should  be  used 
and  committed  to  better  uses,  and  the  unthrifty  religious  persons, 
so  spending  the  same,  to  be  compelled  to  reform  their  lives  :  and 
thereupon  most  humbly  desire  the  king's  highness  that  it  may  be 
enacted  by  authority  of  this  present  Parliament,  that  his  majesty 
shall  have  and  enjoy  to  him  and  to  his  heirs  for  ever,  all  and 
singular  such  monasteries,  priories,  and  other  religious  houses  of 
monks,  canons,  and  nuns,  of  what  kinds  or  diversities  of  habits, 
rules,  or  order  soever  they  be  called  or  named,  which  have  not 
in  lands,  tenements,  rents,  tithes,  portions,  and  other  heredita- 
ments, above  the  clear  yearly  value  of  two  hundred  pounds.  And 
in  like  manner  shall  have  and  enjoy  all  the  sites  and  circuits  of 
every  such  religious  houses,  and  all  and  singular  the  manors, 
granges,  meases,  lands,  tenements,  rents,  reversions,  services, 
tithes,  pensions,  portions,  churches,  chapels,  advowsons,  patron- 
ages, annuities,  rights,  entries,  conditions,  and  other  hereditaments 
appertaining  or  belonging  to  every  such  monastery,  priory,  or 
other  religious  house,  not  having,  as  is  aforesaid,  above  the  said 
clear  yearly  value  of  two  hundred  pounds,  in  as  large  and  ample 
manner  as  the  abbots,  priors,  abbesses,  prioresses,  or  other  gov- 
ernors of  such  monasteries,  priories,  and  other  religious  houses 
now  have,  or  ought  to  have  the  same  in  the  right  of  their  houses. 
And  that  also  his  highness  shall  have  to  him  and  to  his  heirs  all 
and  singular  such  monasteries,  abbeys,  and  priories,  which  at  any 
time  within  one  year  next  before  the  making  of  this  Act  have 
been  given  and  granted  to  his  majesty  by  any  abbot,  prior,  abbess, 
or  prioress,  under  their  convent  seals,  or  that  otherwise,  have 
been  suppressed  or  dissolved,  and  all  and  singular  the  manors, 
lands,  tenements,  rents,  services,  reversions,  tithes,  pensions,  por- 
tions, churches,  chapels,  advowsons,  patronages,  rights,  entries, 
conditions,  and  all  other  interests  and  hereditaments  to  the  same 
monasteries,  abbeys,  and  priories,  or  to  any  of  them  appertaining 
or  belonging ;  to  have  and  to  hold  all  and  singular  the  premises, 
with  all  their  rights,  profits,  jurisdictions,  and  commodities,  unto 
the  king's  majesty,  and  his  heirs  and  assigns  for  ever,  to  do  and 


Act  for  Dissolution  of  Lesser  Monasteries     245 

use  therewith  his  and  their  own  wills,  to  the  pleasure  of  Almighty 
God,  and  to  the  honour  and  profit  of  this  realm. 

IX.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  ordained,  and  established  by 
authority  aforesaid,  that  all  and  singular  persons,  bodies  politic 
and  corporate,  to  whom  the  king's  majesty,  his  heirs  and  successors, 
hereafter  shall  give,  grant,  let,  or  demise  any  site  or  precinct,  with 
the  houses  thereupon  builded,  together  with  the  demesnes  of  any 
monasteries,  priories,  or  other  religious  houses,  that  shall  be  dis- 
solved or  given  to  the  king's  highness  by  this  Act,  and  the  heirs, 
successors,  executors,  and   assigns   of  every  such   person,   body 
politic  and  corporate,  shall   be  bound  by  authority  of  this  Act, 
under  the  penalties  hereafter  ensuing,  to  keep,  or  cause  to   be 
kept,  an  honest  continual  house  and  household  in  the  same  site  or 
precinct,  and  to  occupy  yearly  as  much  of  the  same  demesnes  in 
ploughing  and  tillage  of  husbandry,  that  is  to  say,  as  much  of  the 
said  demesnes  which   hath  been  commonly  used  to  be  kept   in 
tillage  by  the  governors,  abbots,  or  priors  of  the  same   houses, 
monasteries,  or  priories,  or  by  their  farmer  or  farmers  occupying 
the  same  within  the  time  of  twenty  years  next  before  this  Act. 

X.  And  if  any  person  or  persons,  bodies  politic  or  corporate, 
that  shall  be  bounden  by  this  Act,  do  not  keep  an  honest  house- 
hold of  husbandry  and  tillage,  in  manner  and  form  as  is  aforesaid, 
that  then  he  or  they  so  offending  shall  forfeit  to  the  king's  high- 
ness for  every  month  so  offending  six  pounds  thirteen  shillings 
and  fourpence,  to  be  recovered  to  his  use  in  any  of  his  courts  of 
record. 

XL  And  over  that  it  is  enacted  by  authority  aforesaid,  that 
all  justices  of  peace,  in  every  shire  where  any  such  offence  shall 
be  committed  or  done,  contrary  to  the  true  meaning  and  intent  of 
this  present  Act,  shall,  in  every  quarter  and  general  sessions  within 
the  limits  of  their  commission,  inquire  of  the  premises,  and  shall 
have  full  power  and  authority  to  hear  and  determine  the  same, 
and  to  tax  and  assess  no  less  fine  for  every  the  said  offences,  than 
is  afore  limited  for  the  same  offences,  and  the  estreats  thereof  to 
be  made  and  certified  into  the  king's  exchequer,  according  and  at 
such  time  and  form  as  other  estreats  of  fines,  issues,  and  amercia- 
ments  are  made  by  the  same  justices. 


246  English  Constitutional  Documents 

151.  The  King  at  Twenty-four  may  repeal 
Acts  of  Parliament  passed  during  his 
Minority 

(1536.     28  Henry  VIII.  c.  17.     3  5.  K.  673.) 

PRASMUCH  as  laws  and  statutes  may  happen  hereafter  to  be 
made  within  this  realm  at  parliaments  held  at  such  times  as 
the  kings  of  the  same  shall  happen  to  be  within  age,  having  small 
knowledge  and  experience  of  their  affairs,  to  the  great  hindrance 
and  derogation  of  the  imperial  crown  of  this  realm,  and  to  the 
universal  damage  of  the  common  wealth  of  the  subjects  of  the 
same  :  be  it  therefore  enacted  by  authority  of  this  present  par- 
liament, that  if  the  imperial  crown  of  this  realm,  after  the  decease 
of  the  king's  most  royal  majesty,  whose  life  our  Lord  long  pre- 
serve, descend,  come  or  remain  to  the  heirs  of  our  said  sovereign 
lord  or  to  any  person  to  be  limited  by  his  highness,  as  of  very 
right  it  must  and  ought  to  do  according  to  the  laws  of  this  realm 
established  for  the  same,  the  said  heirs  or  such  person  being  within 
the  age  of  twenty-four  years,  and  that  then  any  act  or  acts  of  par- 
liament shall  happen  to  be  made  and  established,  in  any  parlia- 
ment that  then  shall  be  held1  before  such  heir  or  heirs,  person  or 
persons  then  being  in  possession  of  the  said  crown  shall  be  of 
their  full  ages  of  twenty-four  years,  that  then  every  such  heir  or 
heirs  of  our  said'  sovereign  lord,  or  such  persons  so  possessed  of 
the  crown  and  being  within  the  same  age  of  twenty-four  years, 
shall  have  full  power  and  authority  at  all  times,  after  they  shall 
come  to  their  said  full  ages  of  twenty-four  years,  by  their  letters 
patent  under  the  great  seal  of  England,  to  revoke,  annul  and 
repeal  all  and  singular  such  acts  made  and  established  by  their 
royal  assents,  in  any  parliament  held  during  the  time  that  they 
were  within  their  said  age  of  twenty-four  years  ;  their  royal  assents 
had  to  the  same  during  the  time  that  they  were  within  the  said 
age  of  twenty-four  years  or  any  act  or  acts  hereafter  to  be  made 
to  the  contrary  thereof  notwithstanding. 

II.  And  be  it  also  enacted  by  authority  aforesaid  that  every 
such  repeal,  annullation  and  revocation  of  any  act  or  acts,  that 
shall  be  made  and  established  in  any  parliament  held  before  the 
time  that  such  heirs  or  person  possessed  of  the  crown  shall  be  of 
the  said  age  of  twenty-four  years,  shall  be  as  good  and  effectual 
to  all  intents  and  purposes  as  though  it  had  been  done  by  author- 
ity of  parliament. 


The  Lex  Regia  247 

152.  The  Lex  Regia 

(1539.    3iHemyVIILc.8.    3  £  A  726.) 

"PORASMUCH  as  the  king's  most  royal  majesty  for  divers  con- 
-F  siderations,  by  the  advice  of  his  council,  hath  heretofore  set 
forth  divers  and  sundry  his  grace's  proclamations,  as  well  for  and 
concerning  divers  and  sundry  articles  of  Christ's  religion,  as  for  an 
unity  and  concord  to  be  had  amongst  the  loving  and  obedient 
subjects  of  this  his  realm  and  other  his  dominions,  and  also  con- 
cerning the  advancement  of  his  commonwealth  and  good  quiet 
of  his  people,  which  nevertheless  divers  and  many  froward,  wilful 
and  obstinate  persons  have  wilfully  contemned  and  broken,  not 
considering  what  a  king  by  his  royal  power  may  do,  and  for  lack 
of  a  direct  statute  and  law  to  coarct  offenders  to  obey  the  said 
proclamations,  which,  being  still  suffered,  should  not  only  encour- 
age offenders  to  the  disobedience  of  the  precepts  and  laws  of 
Almighty  God,  but  also  be  too  much  to  the  great  dishonour  of  the 
king's  most  royal  majesty,  who  may  full  ill  bear  it,  and  also  give 
too  great  bean  and  boldness  to  all  malefactors  and  offenders; 
considering  also  that  sudden  causes  and  occasions  fortune  many 
times  which  do  require  speedy  remedies,  and  that  by  abiding  for 
a  parliament  in  the  mean  time  might  happen  great  prejudice  to 
ensue  to  the  realm ;  and  weighing  also  that  His  Majesty  (which 
by  the  kingly  and  regal  power  given  him  by  God  may  do  many 
things  in  such  cases)  should  not  be  driven  to  extend  the  liberty 
and  supremacy  of  his  regal  power  and  dignity  by  wilfulness  of 
froward  subjects;  it  is  therefore  thought  in  manner  more  than 
necessary  that  the  king's  highness  of  this  realm  for  the  time 
being  with  the  advice  of  his  honourable  council  should  make  and 
set  forth  proclamations,  for  the  good  and  politic  order  and  gov- 
ernance of  this  his  realm  of  England,  Wales  and  other  his  domin- 
ions from  time  to  time  for  the  defence  of  his  regal  dignity  and  the 
advancement  of  his  commonwealth  and  good  quiet  of  his  people, 
as  the  cases  of  necessity  shall  require,  and  that  an  ordinary  law 
should  be  provided  by  the  assent  of  his  majesty  and  parliament, 
for  the  due  punishment,  correction  and  reformation  of  such  of- 
fences and  disobediences ;  be  it  therefore  enacted  by  the  authority 
of  this  present  parliament,  with  the  king's  majesty,  the  lords 
spiritual  and  temporal  and  the  commons'  assent,  that  always  the 
king  for  the  time  being  with  the  advice  of  his  honourable  council, 
whose  names  hereafter  followeth,  may  set  forth  at  all  times  by 


248  English  Constitutional  Documents 

proclamations,  under  such  penalties  and  pains  and  of  such  sort 
as  to  his  highness  and  his  said  honourable  council  shall  seem 
necessary  and  requisite ;  and  that  those  same  shall  be  obeyed, 
observed  and  kept  as  though  they  were  made  by  act  of  parlia- 
ment for  the  time  in  them  limited,  unless  the  king's  highness  dis- 
pense with  them  or  any  of  them  under  his  great  seal. 

II.  Provided  always  that  the  words,  meaning  and  intent  of  this 
act  be  not  understood,  interpreted,  construed  or  extended,  that 
by  virtue  of  it   any  of  the  king's  liege  people,  of  what  estate, 
degree  or  condition  soever  he  or  they  be,  bodies  politic  or  cor- 
porate, their  heirs  or  successors,  should  have  any  of  his  or  their 
inheritance,  lawful  possessions,  offices,  liberties,  privileges,  fran- 
chises, goods  or  chattels  taken  from  them  or  any  of  them,  nor  by 
virtue  of  the  said  act  suffer  any  pains  of  death,  other  than  shall 
be  hereafter  in  this  act  declared,  nor  that  by  any  proclamation  to 
be  made  by  virtue  of  this  act,  any  acts,  common  laws  standing  at 
this  present  time  in  strength  and  force,  nor   yet   any  lawful  or 
laudable  customs  of  this  realm  or  any  of  them,  shall  be  infringed, 
broken  or  subverted  :  and  especially  all  those  acts  standing  this 
hour  in  force  which  have  been  made  in  the  king's  highness'  time ; 
but  that  every  such  person  and  persons,  bodies  politic  and  cor- 
porate, their  heirs  and  successors  and  the  heirs  and  successors  of 
every  of  them,  their  inheritances,  lawful  possessions,  offices,  liber- 
ties, privileges,  franchises,  goods  and  chattels  shall  stand  and  be 
in  the  same  state  and  condition,  to  every  respect  and  purpose,  as 
if  this  act  or  proviso  had  never  been  had  or  made ;  except  such 
forfeitures,  pains  and  penalties  as  in  this  act  and  in  every  proc- 
lamation which  shall   be   declared  and  expressed ;    and   except 
such  persons  which  shall  offend  any  proclamation  to  be  made  by 
the  king's  highness,  his  heirs  or  successors  for  and   concerning 
any  kind  of  heresies  against  the  Christian  religion. 

III.  Furthermore  be  it  enacted  by  the  authority  of  this  present 
parliament,  that  to  the  intent  the  king's  subjects  should  not  be 
ignorant  of  his  proclamations  every  sheriff  or  other  officer  and 
minister  to  whom  any  such  proclamation  shall  be  directed  by  the 
king's  writ  under  his  great  seal,  shall  proclaim  or  cause  the  same 
to  be  proclaimed  within  fourteen  days  after  the  receipt  thereof  in 
four  several  market  towns  if  there  be  so  many  or  else  in  six  other 
towns  or  villages  within  the  limits  of  their  authority ;  and  they  to 
cause  the  said  proclamations  to  be  fixed  and  set  up  openly  upon 
places  convenient  in  every  such  town,  place  or  village,  upon  pain  and 
penalty  of  such  sum  and  sums  of  money  or  imprisonment  of  body 
as  shall  be  contained  in  the  said  proclamation  or  proclamations. 


The  Lex  Regia  249 

IV.  And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  that 
if  any  person  or  persons,  of  what  estate,  degree  or  condition  soever 
he  or  they  be,  which  at  any  time  hereafter  do  wilfully  offend  and 
break  or  obstinately  not  observe  and  keep  any  such  proclamation 
or  any  article  therein  contained  which  shall  proceed  from  the 
king's  majesty  by  the  advice  of  his  council  as  is  aforesaid,  that 
then  all  and  every  such  offender  or  offenders,  being  thereof, 
within  one  half  year  next  after  his  or  their  offence  committed, 
accused  and  thereof  within  eighteen  months  next  after  the  same 
offence  so  committed  convicted  by  confession  or  lawful  witness 
and  proofs  before  the  archbishop  of  Canterbury  metropolitan,  the 
chancellor  of  England,  the  lord  treasurer  of  England,  the  lord  presi- 
dent of  the  king's  most  honourable  council,  the  lord  privy  seal, 
the  great  chamberlain  of  England,  lord  admiral,  lord  steward  or 
grand  master,  lord  chamberlain  of  the  king's  most  honourable 
household,  two  other  bishops  being  of  the  king's  council,  such  as 
his  grace  shall  appoint  for  the  same,  the  secretary,  the  treasurer 
and  comptroller  of  the  king's  most  honourable  household,  the  mas- 
ter of  the  horse,  the  two  chief  judges  and  the  master  of  the  rolls 
for  the  time  being,  the  chancellor  of  the  augmentations,  the  chan- 
cellor of  the  duchy,  the  chief  baron  of  the  exchequer,  the  two 
general  surveyors,  the  chancellor  of  the  exchequer,  the  under 
treasurer  of  the  same,  the  treasurer  of  the  king's  chamber  for  the 
time  being,  in  the  star  chamber  at  Westminster  or  elsewhere,  or 
at  the  least  before  the  half  of  the  number  afore  rehearsed,  of 
which  number  the  lord  chancellor,  the  lord  treasurer,  the  lord 
president  of  the  king's  most  honourable  council,  the  lord  privy 
seal,  the  chamberlain  of  England,  the  lord  admiral,  the  two  chief 
judges  for  the  time  being  or  two  of  them  shall  be  two,  shall  lose 
and  pay  such  penalties,  forfeitures  of  sums  of  money,  to  be  levied 
of  his  or  their  land,  tenants,  goods  and  chattels  to  the  king's  use, 
and  also  suffer  such  imprisonment  of  his  body,  as  shall  be  expressed, 
mentioned  and  declared  in  any  such  proclamation  or  proclama- 
tions which  such  offender  or  offenders  shall  offend  and  break  or 
not  observe  and  keep,  contrary  to  this  act  as  is  aforesaid ;  and 
that  execution  shall  be  had,  done  and  made  against  every  such 
offender  and  offenders  with  the  addition  of  the  names  or  surnames, 
towns  or  counties,  mystery  or  occupation  of  the  said  offenders,  by 
such  order,  process,  ways  and  means  and  after  such  manner, 
form  and  condition  as  by  the  king's  highness  and  the  said  council 
shall  be  devised  and  thought  most  convenient  for  example  of  such 
offenders :  provided  alway  that  none  offender,  which  shall  offend 
contrary  to  the  form  of  any  such  proclamations,  shall  incur  the 


250  English  Constitutional  Documents 

danger  and  penalty  thereof,  except  such  proclamation  or  proclama- 
tions be  had,  done  or  made  in  such  shire  or  county  where  the 
offender  hath  or  shall  dwell  or  be  most  conversant  within  a  year 
before. 

V.  And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  that  the 
lord  chancellor,  the  lord  privy  seal  and  either  of  them,  with  the 
assent  of  six  of  the  afore  named,  shall  have  power  and  authority 
by  their  discretions,  upon  every  information  to  be  given  to  them 
or  either  of  them  touching  the  premises,  to  cause  process  to  be 
made  against  all  and  singular  such  offenders  by  writs  under  the 
king's  great  seal  or  under  his  grace's  privy  seal  in  form  following, 
that  is  to  say  ;  first  by  proclamation  under  a  pain  or  a  penalty  by 
the  discretion  of  the  aforesaid  councillors  appointed  for  the  award- 
ing of  process,  and  if  he  appear  not  to  the  same  without  a  lawful 
excuse,  then  the  said  councillors  to  award  out  another  proclama- 
tion upon  allegation  of  the  same  offender,  for  the  due  examination, 
trial  and  conviction  of  every  such  person  and  persons  as  shall 
offend  contrary  to  this  act,  for  the  due  execution  to  be  had  of  and 
for  the  same  in  manner  and  form  as  is  above  remembered  ;  except 
it  be  within  the  liberty  of  the  county  palatine  of  the  duchy  of  Lan- 
caster ;  and  in  case  it  so  be,  then  to  pass  by  the  chancellor  of  the 
king's  duchy  of  Lancaster  under  the  seal  of  the  said  duchy,  with 
the  assent  of  six  at  the  least  of  the  aforenamed  councillors. 

VIII.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  that  if  it  happen  our  said  sov- 
ereign lord  the  king  to  decease  (whose  life  God  long  preserve) 
before  such  time  as  that  person  which  shall  be  his  next  heir  or 
successor  to  the  imperial  crown  of  this  realm,  shall  accomplish 
and  come  to  the  age  of  eighteen  years,  that  then  all  and  singular 
proclamations  which  shall  be  in  any  wise  made  and  set  forth  into 
any  part  of  this  realm  or  other  the  king's  dominions  by  virtue  of 
this  act,  within  the  aforesaid  years  of  the  said  next  heir  or  successor, 
shall  be  set  forth  in  the  successor's  name  then  being  king,  and 
shall  import  or  bear  underwritten  the  full  names  of  such  of  the 
king's  honourable  council  then  being  as  shall  be  the  devisors  or 
setters  forth  of  the  same  which  shall  be  in  this  case  the  whole 
number  afore  rehearsed,  or  at  least  the  more  part  of  them,  or  else 
the  proclamations  to  be  void  and  of  none  effect. 


Act  for  Dissolution  of  Greater  Monasteries     251 


153.     Act  for  the  Dissolution  of  the  Greater 
Monasteries 

(I539-    31  Henry  VIII.  c.  13.    3  S.  R.  733.    The  whole  act  reprinted  in  G. 
and  H.  281-303.) 

WHERE  divers  and  sundry  abbots,  priors,  abbesses,  prioresses, 
and  other  ecclesiastical  governors  and  governesses  of  divers 
monasteries,  abbacies,  priories,  nunneries,  colleges,  hospitals,  houses 
of  friars,  and  other  religious  and  ecclesiastical  houses  and  places 
within  this  our  sovereign  lord  the  king's  realm  of  England  and 
Wales,  of  their  own  free  and  voluntary  minds,  good  wills  and 
assents,  without  constraint,  coarction,  or  compulsion  of  any  man- 
ner of  person  or  persons,  since  the  fourth  day  of  February,  the 
twenty-seventh  year  of  the  reign  of  our  now  most  dread  sovereign 
lord,  by  the  due  order  and  course  of  the  common  laws  of  this  his 
realm  of  England,  and  by  their  sufficient  writings  of  record,  under 
their  convent  and  common  seals,  have  severally  given,  granted, 
and  by  the  same  their  writings  severally  confirmed  all  their  said 
monasteries,  abbacies,  priories,  nunneries,  colleges,  hospitals,  houses 
of  friars,  and  other  religious  and  ecclesiastical  houses  and  places, 
and  all  their  sites,  circuits,  and  precincts  of  the  same,  and  all  and 
singular  their  manors,  lordships,  granges,  meases,  lands,  tenements, 
meadows,  pastures,  rents,  reversions,  services,  woods,  tithes,  pen- 
sions, portions,  churches,  chapels,  advowsons,  patronages,  annuities, 
rights,  entries,  conditions,  commons,  leets,  courts,  liberties,  privi- 
leges, and  franchises  appertaining  or  in  any  wise  belonging  to  any 
such  monastery,  abbacy,  priory,  nunnery,  college,  hospital,  house 
of  friars,  and  other  religious  and  ecclesiastical  houses  and  places, 
or  to  any  of  them,  by  whatsoever  name  or  corporation  they  or  any 
of  them  were  then  named  or  called,  and  of  what  order,  habit, 
religion,  or  other  kind  or  quality  soever  they  or  any  of  them  then 
were  reputed,  known,  or  taken ;  to  have  and  to  hold  all  the  said 
monasteries,  abbacies,  priories,  nunneries,  colleges,  hospitals,  houses 
of  friars,  and  other  religious  and  ecclesiastical  houses  and  places, 
sites,  circuits,  precincts,  manors,  lands,  tenements,  meadows,  pas- 
tures, rents,  reversions,  services,  and  all  other  the  premises,  to  our 
said  sovereign  lord,  his  heirs  and  successors  for  ever,  and  the  same 
their  said  monasteries,  abbacies,  priories,  nunneries,  colleges,  hos- 
pitals, houses  of  friars,  and  other  religious  and  ecclesiastical  houses 
and  places,  sites,  circuits,  precincts,  manors,  lordships,  granges, 
meases,  lands,  tenements,  meadows,  pastures,  rents,  reversions, 


252  English  Constitutional  Documents 

services,  and  other  the  premises,  voluntarily,  as  is  aforesaid,  have 
renounced,  left,  and  forsaken,  and  every  of  them  has  renounced, 
left,  and  forsaken : 

II.  Be  it  therefore  enacted  by  the  king  our  sovereign  lord, 
and  the  lords  spiritual  and  temporal,  and  the  commons,  in  this 
present  Parliament  assembled,  and  by  authority  of  the  same,  that 
the  king  our  sovereign  lord  shall  have,  hold,  possess,  and  enjoy 
to  him,  his  heirs  and  successors  for  ever,  all  and  singular  such 
late  monasteries,  abbacies,  priories,  nunneries,  colleges,  hospitals, 
houses  of  friars,  and  other  religious  and  ecclesiastical  houses  and 
places,  of  what  kinds,  natures,  qualities,  or  diversities  of  habits, 
rules,  professions,  or  orders  they,  or  any  of  them,  were  named, 
known,  or  called,  which  since  the  said  fourth  day  of  February,  the 
twenty-seventh  year  of  the  reign  of  our  said  sovereign  lord,  have 
been  dissolved,  suppressed,  renounced,  relinquished,  forfeited, 
given  up,  or  by  any  other  mean  come  to  his  highness  ;  and  by  the 
same  authority,  and  in  like  manner,  shall  have,  hold,  possess,  and 
enjoy  all  the  sites,  circuits,  precincts,  manors,  lordships,  granges, 
meases,  lands,  tenements,  meadows,  pastures,  rents,  reversions, 
services,  woods,  tithes,  pensions,  portions,  parsonages  appropri- 
ated, vicarages,  churches,  chapels,  advowsons,  nominations,  patron- 
ages, annuities,  rights,  interests,  entries,  conditions,  commons, 
leets,  courts,  liberties,  privileges,  franchises,  and  other  whatsoever 
hereditaments,  which  appertained  or  belonged  to  the  said  late 
monasteries,  abbacies,  priories,  nunneries,  colleges,  hospitals, 
houses  of  friars,  and  other  religious  or  ecclesiastical  houses  and 
places,  or  to  any  of  them,  in  as  large  and  ample  manner  and 
form  as  the  late  abbots,  priors,  abbesses,  prioresses,  and  other 
ecclesiastical  governors  and  governesses  of  such  late  monasteries, 
abbacies,  priories,  nunneries,  colleges,  hospitals,  houses  of  friars, 
and  other  religious  and  ecclesiastical  houses  and  places,  had, 
held,  or  occupied,  or  of  right  ought  to  have  had,  holden,  or  occu- 
pied, in  the  rights  of  their  said  late  monasteries,  abbacies,  priories, 
nunneries,  colleges,  hospitals,  houses  of  friars,  or  other  religious 
or  ecclesiastical  houses  or  places,  at  the  time  of  the  said  dissolu- 
tion, suppression,  renouncing,  relinquishing,  forfeiting,  giving  up, 
or  by  any  other  manner  of  means  coming  of  the  same  to  the 
king's  highness  since  the  fourth  day  of  February  above  specified. 


The  Six  Articles  Act  253 


154.    The  Six  Articles  Act 

(1539.    31  Henry  VIII.  c.  14.    35.  Jt.  739.    The  whole  act  reprinted  in 
G.  and  H.  303-319.) 

WHERE  the  king's  most  excellent  majesty  is,  by  God's  law, 
supreme  head  immediately  under  Him  of  this  whole  Church 
and  congregation  of  England,  intending  the  conservation  of  the 
same  Church  and  congregation  in  a  true,  sincere,  and  uniform 
doctrine  of  Christ's  religion,  calling  also  to  his  blessed  and  most 
gracious  remembrance  as  well  the  great  and  quiet  assurance,  pros- 
perous increase,  and  other  innumerable  commodities,  which  have 
ever  ensued,  come,  and  followed,  of  concord,  agreement,  and 
unity  in  opinions,  as  also  the  manifold  perils,  dangers,  and  incon- 
veniences which  have  heretofore,  in  many  places  and  regions, 
grown,  sprung,  and  arisen,  of  the  diversities  of  minds  and  opinions, 
especially  of  matters  of  Christian  religion,  and  therefore  desiring 
that  such  a  unity  might  and  should  be  charitably  established  in 
all  things  touching  and  concerning  the  same,  as  the  same,  so  being 
established,  might  chiefly  be  to  the  honour  of  Almighty  God,  the 
very  Author  and  Fountain  of  all  true  unity  and  sincere  concord, 
and  consequently  redound  to  the  common  wealth  of  this  his  high- 
ness's  most  noble  realm,  and  of  all  his  loving  subjects,  and  other 
residents  and  inhabitants  of  or  in  the  same ;  has  therefore  caused 
and  commanded  this  his  most  High  Court  of  Parliament,  for  sundry 
and  many  urgent  causes  and  considerations,  to  be  at  this  time 
summoned,  and  also  a  synod  and  Convocation  of  all  the  arch- 
bishops, bishops,  and  other  learned  men  of  the  clergy  of  this  his 
realm,  to  be  in  like  manner  assembled. 

II.  And  forasmuch  as  in  the  said  Parliament,  synod,  and  Con- 
vocation, there  were  certain  Articles,  matters,  and  questions  pro- 
poned and  set  forth  touching  Christian  religion,  that  is  to  say : 

First,  whether  in  the  most  blessed  Sacrament  of  the  Altar  re- 
mainetn,  after  the  consecration,  the  substance  of  bread  and  wine, 
or  no. 

Secondly,  whether  it  be  necessary  by  God's  law  that  all  men 
should  be  communicate  with  both  kinds,  or  no. 

Thirdly,  whether  priests,  that  is  to  say,  men  dedicate  to  God 
by  priesthood,  may,  by  the  law  of  God,  marry  after,  or  no. 

Fourthly,  whether  vow  of  chastity  or  widowhood,  made  to  God 
advisedly  by  man  or  woman,  be,  by  the  law  of  God,  to  be  ob- 
served, or  no. 


254  English  Constitutional  Documents 

Fifthly,  whether  private  masses  stand  with  the  law  of  God,  and 
be  to  be  used  and  continued  in  the  Church  and  congregation  of 
England,  as  things  whereby  good  Christian  people  may  and  do 
receive  both  godly  consolation  and  wholesome  benefits,  or  no. 

Sixthly,  whether  auricular  confession  is  necessary  to  be  retained, 
continued,  used,  and  frequented  in  the  Church,  or  no. 

III.  The  king's  most  royal  majesty,  most  prudently  pondering 
and  considering,  that  by  occasion  of  variable  and  sundry  opinions 
and  judgments  of  the  said  Articles,  great  discord  and  variance  has 
arisen,  as  well  amongst  the  clergy  of  this  his  realm,  as  amongst  a 
great  number  of  vulgar  people,  his  loving  subjects  of  the  same, 
and  being  in  a  full  hope  and  trust  that  a  full  and  perfect  resolution 
of  the  said  Articles  should  make  a  perfect  concord  and  unity 
generally  amongst  all  his  loving  and  obedient  subjects,  of  his 
most  excellent  goodness  not  only  commanded  that  the  said 
Articles  should  deliberately  and  advisedly,  by  his  said  archbishops, 
bishops,  and  other  learned  men  of  his  clergy,  be  debated,  argued, 
and  reasoned,  and  their  opinions  therein  to  be  understood,  de- 
clared, and  known,  but  also  most  graciously  vouchsafed,  in  his 
own  princely  person,  to  descend  and  come  into  his  said  High 
Court  of  Parliament  and  council,  and  there,  like  a  prince  of  most 
high  prudence  and  no  less  learning,  opened  and  declared  many 
things  of  high  learning  and  great  knowledge,  touching  the  said 
Articles,  matters,  and  questions,  for  a  unity  to  be  had  in  the  same  ; 
whereupon,  after  a  great  and  long,  deliberate,  and  advised  dispu- 
tation and  consultation  had  and  made  concerning  the  said 
Articles,  as  well  by  the  consent  of  the  king's  highness,  as  by  the 
assent  of  the  lords  spiritual  and  temporal,  and  other  learned  men 
of  his  clergy  in  their  Convocation,  and  by  the  consent  of  the 
commons  in  this  present  Parliament  assembled,  it  was  and  is 
finally  resolved,  accorded,  and  agreed  in  manner  and  form  fol- 
lowing, that  is  to  say  : 

First,  that  in  the  most  blessed  Sacrament  of  the  Altar,  by  the 
strength  and  efficacy  of  Christ's  mighty  word  (it  being  spoken  by 
the  priest),  is  present  really,  under  the  form  of  bread  and  wine, 
the  natural  body  and  blood  of  our  Saviour  Jesus  Christ,  conceived 
of  the  Virgin  Mary ;  and  that  after  the  consecration  there  remain- 
eth  no  substance  of  bread  or  wine,  nor  any  other  substance,  but 
the  substance  of  Christ,  God  and  man. 

Secondly,  that  communion  in  both  kinds  is  not  necessary  ad 
salutem,  by  the  law  of  God,  to  all  persons ;  and  that  it  is  to  be 
believed,  and  not  doubted  of,  but  that  in  the  flesh,  under  the  form 
of  bread,  is  the  very  blood ;  and  with  the  blood,  under  the  form 


The  Six  Articles  Act  255 

of  wine,  is  the  very  flesh ;  as  well  apart,  as  though  they  were  both 
together. 

Thirdly,  that  priests  after  the  order  of  priesthood  received,  as 
afore,  may  not  marry,  by  the  law  of  God. 

Fourthly,  that  vows  of  chastity  or  widowhood,  by  man  or  woman 
made  to  God  advisedly,  ought  to  be  observed  by  the  law  of  God ; 
and  that  it  exempts  them  from  other  liberties  of  Christian  people, 
which  without  that  they  might  enjoy. 

Fifthly,  that  it  is  meet  and  necessary  that  private  masses  be 
continued  and  admitted  in  this  the  king's  English  Church  and 
congregation,  as  whereby  good  Christian  people,  ordering  them- 
selves accordingly,  do  receive  both  godly  and  goodly  consolations 
and  benefits ;  and  it  is  agreeable  also  to  God's  law. 

Sixthly,  that  auricular  confession  is  expedient  and  necessary  to 
be  retained  and  continued,  used  and  frequented  in  the  Church  of 
God. 

IV.  For  the  which  most  godly  study,  pain,  and  travail  of  his 
majesty,  and  determination  and  resolution  of  the  premises,  his 
most  humble  and  obedient  subjects,  the  lords  spiritual  and  tem- 
poral, and  the  commons,  in  this  present  Parliament  assembled, 
not  only  render  and  give  unto  his  highness  their  most  high  and 
hearty  thanks,  and  think  themselves  most  bound  to  pray  for  the 
long  continuance  of  his  grace's  most  royal  estate,  but  also  being 
desirous  that  his  most  godly  enterprise  may  be  well  accomplished, 
and  brought  to  a  full  end  and  perfection,  and  so  established  that 
the  same  might  be  to  the  honour  of  God,  and  after,  to  the  com- 
mon quiet,  unity,  and  concord  to  be  had  in  the  whole  body  of  this 
realm  for  ever,  most  humbly  beseech  his  royal  majesty,  that  the 
resolution  and  determination  above  written  of  the  said  Articles 
may  be  established,  and  perpetually  perfected,  by  authority  of  this 
present  Parliament : 

V.  It  is  therefore  ordained  and  enacted  by  the  king  our  sover- 
eign lord,  the  lords  spiritual  and  temporal,  and  the  commons,  in 
this  present  Parliament  assembled,  and  by  the  authority  of  the 
same,  that  if  any  person  or  persons  within  this  realm  of  England, 
or  any  other  the  king's  dominions,  after  the  twelfth  day  of  July 
next  coming,  by  word,  writing,  imprinting,  ciphering,  or  in  any 
other  wise  do  publish,  preach,  teach,  say,  affirm,  declare,  dispute, 
argue,  or  hold  any  opinion,  that  in  the  blessed  Sacrament  of  the 
Altar,  under  form   of    bread   and   wine    (after  the  consecration 
thereof),  there  is  not  present  really  the  natural  body  and  blood 
of  our  Saviour  Jesus  Christ,  conceived  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  or  that 
after  the  said  consecration  there  remaineth  any  substance  of  bread 


256  English  Constitutional  Documents 

or  wine,  or  any  other  substance,  but  the  substance  of  Christ,  God 
and  man,  or  after  the  time  abovesaid  publish,  preach,  teach,  say, 
affirm,  declare,  dispute,  argue,  or  hold  opinion  that  in  the  flesh, 
under  form  of  bread,  is  not  the  very  blood  of  Christ ;  or  that  with 
the  blood,  under  form  of  wine,  is  not  the  very  flesh  of  Christ,  as 
well  apart  as  though  they  were  both  together ;  or  by  any  of  the 
means  abovesaid,  or  otherwise,  preach,  teach,  declare,  or  affirm 
the  said  Sacrament  to  be  of  other  substance  than  is  abovesaid ;  or 
by  any  means  contemn,  deprave,  or  despise  the  said  blessed  Sac- 
rament :  that  then  every  such  person  and  persons  so  offending, 
their  aiders,  comforters,  counsellors,  consenters,  and  abettors 
therein,  being  thereof  convicted  in  form  underwritten,  by  the 
authority  abovesaid,  shall  be  deemed  and  adjudged  heretics.  And 
that  every  such  offence  shall  be  adjudged  manifest  heresy,  and 
that  every  such  offender  and  offenders  shall  therefor  have  and  suffer 
judgment,  execution,  pain,  and  pains  of  death  by  way  of  burning, 
without  any  abjuration,  clergy,  or  sanctuary  to  be  therefor  per- 
mitted, had,  allowed,  admitted,  or  suffered ;  and  also  shall  therefor 
forfeit  and  lose  to  the  king's  highness,  his  heirs  and  successors,  all 
his  or  their  honours,  manors,  castles,  lands,  tenements,  rents,  rever- 
sions, services,  possessions,  and  all  other  his  or  their  hereditaments, 
goods  and  chattels,  terms  and  freeholds,  whatsoever  they  be,  which 
any  such  offender  or  offenders  shall  have  at  the  time  of  any  such 
offence  or  offences  committed  or  done,  or  at  any  time  after,  as  in 
cases  of  high  treason. 

VI.  And  furthermore  be  it  enacted,  by  the  authority  of  this  pres- 
ent Parliament,  that  if  any  person  or  persons,  after  the  said  twelfth 
day  of  July,  preach  in  any  sermon  or  collation  openly  made  to  the 
king's  people,  or  teach  in  any  common  school  or  to  other  congre- 
gation of  people,  or  being  called  before  such  judges  and  according 
to  such  form  of  the  law  as  hereafter  shall  be  declared,  do  obsti- 
nately affirm,  uphold,  maintain,  or  defend  that  the  communion  of 
the  said  blessed  Sacrament  in  both  kinds,  that  is  to  say,  in  form 
of  bread  and  also  of  wine,  is  necessary  for  the  health  of  man's 
soul,  to  be  given  or  ministered,  or  ought  or  should  be  given  or 
ministered  to  any  person  in  both  kinds,  or  that  it  is  necessary  so  to 
be  received  or  taken  by  any  person  other  than  by  priests  being  at 
Mass  and  consecrating  the  same  ;  or  that  any  man,  after  the  order 
of  priesthood  received  as  aforesaid,  may  marry  or  may  contract 
matrimony  ;  or  that  any  man  or  woman  which  advisedly  has  vowed 
or  professed,  or  shall  vow  or  profess,  chastity  or  widowhood,  may 
marry  or  may  contract  matrimony ;  or  that  private  masses  be  not 
lawful  or  not  laudable,  or  should  not  be  celebrated,  had,  nor  used 


The  Six  Articles  Act  257 

in  this  realm,  nor  be  not  agreeable  to  the  laws  of  God ;  or  that 
auricular  confession  is  not  expedient  and  necessary  to  be  retained 
and  continued,  used  and  frequented,  in  the  Church  of  God ;  or  if 
any  priest,  after  the  said  twelfth  day  of  July,  or  any  other  man  or 
woman  which  advisedly  has  vowed,  or  after  the  said  day  advisedly 
do  vow  chastity  or  widowhood,  do  actually  marry  or  contract  matri- 
mony with  any  person  :  that  then  all  and  every  person  and  persons 
so  preaching,  teaching,  obstinately  affirming,  upholding,  main- 
taining, or  defending,  or  making  marriage  or  contract  of  matri- 
mony, as  is  above  specified,  be  and  shall  be,  by  authority  above 
written,  deemed  and  adjudged  a  felon  and  felons ;  and  that  every 
offender  in  the  same,  being  therefor  duly  convicted  or  attainted 
by  the  laws  underwritten,  shall  therefore  suffer  pains  of  death,  as 
in  cases  of  felony,  without  any  benefit  of  clergy  or  privilege  of 
church  or  sanctuary  to  him  or  her  to  be  allowed  in  that  behalf, 
and  shall  forfeit  all  his  or  her  lands  and  goods,  as  in  cases  of  felony, 
and  that  it  shall  be  lawful  to  the  patron  or  patrons  of  any  manner 
of  benefice  which  any  such  offender  at  the  time  of  his  said  convic- 
tion or  attainder  had,  to  present  one  other  incumbent  thereunto, 
as  if  the  same  person  so  convicted  or  attainted  had  been  bodily 
deceased. 

VII.  Also  be  it  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  that  if  any 
person  or  persons,  after  the  said  twelfth  day  of  July,  by  word, 
writing,  printing,  ciphering,  or  otherwise  than  is  above  rehearsed, 
publish,  declare,  or  hold  opinion  that  the  said  communion  of  the 
blessed  Sacrament  in  both  kinds  aforesaid  is  necessary  for  the 
health  of  man's  soul  to  be  given  or  ministered  in  both  kinds,  and 
so  ought  or  should  be  given  and  ministered  to  any  person,  or 
ought  or  should  be  so  in  both  kinds  received  or  taken  by  any 
person  other  than  by  priests  being  at  Mass  and  consecrating  the 
same  as  is  aforesaid,  or  that  any  man  after  the  order  of  priesthood 
received  as  is  aforesaid,  may  marry  or  may  make  contract  of  matri- 
mony, or  that  any  man  or  woman  which  advisedly  has  made  or 
shall  make  a  vow  to  God  of  chastity  or  widowhood,  may  marry  or 
may  make  contract  of  matrimony,  or  that  private  masses  be  not 
lawful  or  not  laudable,  or  should  not  be  celebrated,  had,  nor  used, 
nor  be  agreeable  to  the  laws  of  God,  or  that  auricular  confession 
is  not  expedient  and  necessary  to  be  retained  and  continued,  used 
and  frequented,  in  the  Church  of  God ;  every  person,  being  for 
every  such  offence  duly  convicted  or  attainted  by  the  laws  under- 
written, shall  forfeit  and  lose  to  the  king,  our  sovereign  lord,  all 
his  goods  and  chattels  for  ever,  and  also  the  profits  of  all  his  lands, 
tenements,  annuities,  fees,  and  offices  during  his  life,  and  all  his 


258  English  Constitutional  Documents 

benefices  and  spiritual  promotions  shall  be  utterly  void,  and  also 
shall  suffer  imprisonment  of  his  body  at  the  will  and  pleasure  of 
our  said  sovereign  lord  the  king ;  and  if  any  such  person  or 
persons,  being  once  convicted  of  any  the  offences  mentioned  in 
this  article  as  is  abovesaid,  do  afterwards  eftsoons  offend  in  any  of 
the  same,  and  be  thereof  accused,  indicted,  or  presented  and  con- 
victed again  by  the  authority  of  the  laws  underwritten,  that  then 
every  such  person  and  persons  so  being  twice  convicted  and 
attainted  of  the  said  offences,  or  of  any  of  them,  shall  be  adjudged 
a  felon  and  felons,  and  shall  suffer  judgment,  execution,  and  pains 
of  death,  loss  and  forfeiture  of  lands  and  goods,  as  in  cases  of 
felony,  without  any  privilege  of  clergy  or  sanctuary  to  be  in  any 
wise  permitted,  admitted,  or  allowed  in  that  behalf. 

VIII.  Be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  abovesaid,  that  if 
any  person,  which  is  or  has  been  a  priest,  before  this  present 
Parliament  or  during  the  time  of  session  of  the  same  has  married 
and  has  made  any  contract  of  matrimony  with  any  woman,  or  that 
any  man  or  woman,  which  before  the  making  of  this  Act  advisedly 
has  vowed  chastity  or  widowhood,  before  this  present  Parliament 
or  during  the  session  of  the  same  has  married  or  contracted  matri- 
mony with  any  person ;  that  then  every  such  marriage  and  con- 
tract of  matrimony  shall  be  utterly  void  and  of  none  effect,  and 
that  the  ordinaries,  within  whose  diocese  or  jurisdiction  the  person 
or  persons  so  married  or  contracted  is  or  be  resident  or  abiding, 
shall  from  time  to  time  make  separation  and  divorces  of  the  said 
marriages  and  contracts. 


X.  And  be  it  further  enacted  by  authority  abovesaid,  that  if 
any  person  or  persons  at  any  time  hereafter  contemn  or  contemp- 
tuously refuse,  deny,  or  abstain  to  be  confessed  at  the  time  com- 
monly accustomed  within  this  realm  and  Church  of  England,  or 
contemn  or  contemptuously  refuse,  deny,  or  abstain  to  receive  the 
holy  and  blessed  Sacrament  abovesaid  at  the  time  commonly  used 
and  accustomed  for  the  same,  that  then  every  such  offender,  being 
thereof  duly  convicted  or  attainted  by  the  laws  underwritten, 
shall  suffer  such  imprisonment  and  make  such  fine  and  ransom  to 
the  king  our  sovereign  lord  and  his  heirs,  as  by  his  highness  or  by 
his  or  their  council,  shall  be  ordered  and  adjudged  in  that  behalf. 
And  if  any  such  offender  or  offenders,  at  any  time  or  times  after 
the  said  conviction  or  attainder  so  had,  do  eftsoons  contemn  or 
contemptuously  refuse,  deny,  or  abstain  to  be  confessed  or  to 
be  communicate  in  manner  and  form  above  written,  and  be 


The  Attainder  of  Queen  Katherine  Howard     259 

thereof  duly  convicted  or  attainted  by  the  laws  underwritten,  that 
then  every  such  offence  shall  be  deemed  and  adjudged  felony,  and 
the  offender  or  offenders  therein  shall  suffer  pains  of  death,  and 
lose  and  forfeit  all  his  and  their  goods,  lands,  and  tenements  as 
in  cases  of  felony. 


XXI.  And  it  is  also  enacted  by  the  authority  abovesaid,  that 
the  said  commissioners  and  every  of  them  shall,  from  time  to  time, 
have  full  power  and  authority,  by  virtue  of  this  Act,  to  take  into 
his  or  their  keeping  [or]  possession  all  and  all  manner  of  books 
which  be  and  have  been,  or  hereafter  shall  be,  set  forth,  read,  or 
declared  within  this  realm,  or  other  the  king's  dominions,  wherein 
is  or  be  contained  or  comprised  any  clause,  article,  matter,  or 
sentence  repugnant  or  contrary  to  the  tenor,  form,  or  effect  of  this 
present  Act,  or  any  of  the  articles  contained  in  the  same.  And  the 
said  commissioners,  or  three  of  them  at  the  least,  to  burn  or  other- 
wise destroy  the  said  books,  or  any  part  of  them,  as  unto  the  said 
commissioners,  or  unto  three  of  them  at  the  least,  shall  be  thought 
expedient  by  their  discretions. 


155.    The  Attainder  of  Queen  Katherine 
Howard 

(1542.    33  Henry  VUL  c.  ai.    3  S.  R.  857.) 

TN  their  most  humble  wise  beseech  your  most  royal  Majesty  the 
•*-  lords  spiritual  and  temporal  and  all  other  your  most  loving 
and  obedient  subjects  the  commons  of  this  your  most  high  court 
of  parliament  assembled  ;  that  where,  besides  any  man's  expecta- 
tion, such  chance  hath  happened,  by  Mistress  Katherine  Howard 
which  Your  Highness  took  to  your  wife,  both  to  Your  Majesty 
chiefly  and  so  consequently  to  us  all  that  the  like  we  think  hath 
scarce  been  seen,  the  likelihoods  and  appearances  being  so  far  con- 
trary to  that  which  by  evident  and  due  proof  is  now  found  true ; 

of  and  for  which  treasons  being  manifestly  and  plainly  proved,  as 
well  by  the  confession  of  the  said  queen  and  other  the  said  parties 
as  by  divers  other  witnesses  and  proofs,  the  said  Francis  Dereham 


260  English  Constitutional  Documents 

and  Thomas  Culpepper  having  been  lawfully  and  truly  and  accord- 
ing to  the  laws  of  the  realm  convicted  and  attainted,  and  the  said 
queen  and  Jane,  lady  Rochford,  be  lawfully  indicted,  insomuch 
that  Thomas  Culpepper  and  Francis  Dereham  have  justly  suffered 
therefor  pains  of  death  according  to  their  merits  as  by  the  records 
thereof  more  plainly  at  large  may  appear ;  it  may  therefore  please 
Your  Highness  of  your  most  excellent  and  accustomed  goodness, 
and  for  the  entire  love,  favour  and  hearty  affection  that  Your  Maj- 
esty hath  always  heretofore  borne  and  yet  beareth  to  the  com- 
monwealth of  this  your  realm  of  England,  and  for  the  conservation 
of  your  most  excellent  Highness  and  posterity,  and  of  the  good 
peace,  unity  and  rest  of  us  your  most  bounden  and  obedient  sub- 
jects, to  grant  and  assent,  at  the  most  humble  desire  and  petition 
of  your  loving  and  obedient  subjects  the  lords  spiritual  and  tem- 
poral and  the  commons  in  this  present  parliament  assembled,  that 
this  their  lawful  indictment  and  attainders  of  such  as  have  lately 
suffered  may  be  approved  by  the  authority  of  this  present  parlia- 
ment :  and  that  it  may  be  enacted  that  the  said  queen  Katherine 
and  Jane,  lady  Rochford,  for  their  said  abominable  and  detesta- 
ble treasons  by  them  and  every  of  them  most  abominably  and 
traitorously  committed  and  done  against  Your  Majesty  and  this 
your  realm,  shall  be  by  the  authority  of  this  present  parliament 
convicted  and  attainted  of  high  treason  ;  and  that  the  same  queen 
Katherine  and  Jane,  lady  Rochford,  and  either  of  them  shall  have 
and  suffer  pains  of  death,  loss  of  goods,  chattels,  debts,  farms  and 
all  other  things  as  in  cases  of  high  treason  by  the  laws  of  this  your 
realm  hath  been  accustomed  granted  and  given  to  the  crown  :  and 
also  that  the  said  queen  Katherine,  Jane,  lady  Rochford,  Thomas 
Culpepper,  and  Francis  Dereham,  and  every  of  them,  shall  lose 
and  forfeit  to  Your  Highness  and  to  your  heirs  all  such  right,  title, 
interest,  use  and  possession,  which  they  or  any  of  them  had  the 
twenty-fifth  day  of  August  in  the  thirty-third  year  of  your  reign  or 
any  time  since,  of,  in  or  to  all  such  their  honours,  manors,  meases, 
lands,  tenements,  rents,  reversions,  remainders,  uses,  possessions, 
offices,  rights,  conditions  and  all  other  their  hereditaments  of  what 
names,  natures  or  qualities  soever  they  be  ;  and  that  all  such  rights, 
title,  interest,  use  and  possession,  which  they  or  any  of  them  had 
or  of  right  ought  to  have  the  said  twenty-fifth  day  of  August  or  any 
time  since,  of,  in  or  to  the  same  honours,  castles,  manors,  meases, 
lands,  tenements,  rents,  reversions,  remainders,  uses,  possessions, 
offices,  rights,  commodities,  and  hereditaments,  by  the  authority 
aforesaid  shall  be  deemed  vested  and  judged  to  be  in  the  actual 
and  real  possession  of  Your  Majesty,  without  any  office  or  inquisi- 


Ferrers'  Case  261 

tion  thereof  hereafter  to  be  taken  or  found  according  to  the  com- 
mon laws  of  this  your  realm. 


156.    Ferrers'  Case 

(1543.     3  Holinshed's  Chronicle,  824-826.) 

IN  the  Lent  season,  whilst  the  parliament  yet  continued,  one 
George  Ferrers,  gentleman,  servant  to  the  king,  being  elected 
a  burgess  for  the  town  of  Plymouth  in  the  county  of  Devonshire, 
in  going  to  the  parliament  house,  was  arrested  in  London  by  a 
process  out  of  the  king's  bench,  at  the  suit  of  one  White,  for  the 
sum  of  two  hundred  marks  or  thereabouts,  wherein  he  was  late 
afore  condemned,  as  a  surety  for  the  debt  of  one  Weldon  of 
Salisbury:  which  arrest  being  signified  to  Sir  Thomas  Moyle, 
knight,  then  speaker  of  the  parliament,  and  to  the  knights  and 
burgesses  there,  order  was  taken,  that  the  sergeant  of  the  parlia- 
ment, called  St.  John,  should  forthwith  repair  to  the  Compter  in 
Bread  Street  (whither  the  said  Ferrers  was  carried)  and  there 
demand  delivery  of  the  prisoner. 

The  sergeant  (as  he  had  in  charge)  went  to  the  Compter,  and 
declared  to  the  clerks  there  what  he  had  in  commandment.  But 
they  and  other  officers  of  the  city  were  so -far  from  obeying  the 
said  commandment,  as  after  many  stout  words  they  forcibly  re- 
sisted the  said  sergeant.*  *  *  The  sheriffs  of  London,  called 
Rowland  Hill  and  Henry  Suckliffe,  came  thither,  to  whom  the 
sergeant  complained  of  this  injury,  and  required  of  them  the 
delivery  of  the  said  burgess,  as  afore.  But  they,  bearing  with  their 
officers,  made  little  account  either  of  his  complaint  or  of  his  mes- 
sage, rejecting  the  same  contemptuously.*  *  * 

The  sergeant  thus  hardly  entreated,  made  return  to  the  parlia- 
ment house,  and  finding  the  speaker,  and  all  the  burgesses  set  in 
their  places,  declared  unto  them  the  whole  case  as  it  fell,  who 
took  the  same  in  so  ill  part,  that  they  altogether  (of  whom  there 
were  not  a  few,  as  well  of  the  king's  privy  council,  as  also  of  his 
privy  chamber)  would  sit  no  longer  without  their  burgess,  but  rose 
up  wholly,  and  repaired  to  the  upper  house,  where  the  whole  case 
was  declared  by  the  mouth  of  the  speaker,  before  Sir  Thomas 
Audley,  knight,  then  lord  chancellor  of  England,  and  all  the  lords 
and  judges  there  assembled,  who,  judging  the  contempt  to  be  very 
great,  referred  the  punishment  thereof  to  the  order  of  the  com- 


262  English  Constitutional  Documents 

mons  house.  They  returning  to  their  places  again,  upon  new 
debate  of  the  case,  took  order,  that  their  sergeant  should  eftsoons 
repair  to  the  sheriff  of  London,  and  require  delivery  of  the  said 
burgess,  without  any  writ  or  warrant  had  for  the  same,  but  only  as 
afore. 

And  yet  the  lord  chancellor  offered  there  to  grant  a  writ,  which 
they  of  the  commons  house  refused,  being  in  a  clear  opinion,  that 
all  commandments  and  other  acts  [of]  proceeding  from  the  nether 
house,  were  to  be  done  and  executed  by  their  sergeant  without 
writ,  only  by  show  of  his  mace,  which  was  his  warrant.  But  before 
the  sergeant's  return  into  London,  the  sheriffs  having  intelligence 
how  heinously  the  matter  was  taken,  became  somewhat  more  mild, 
so  as  upon  the  said  second  demand,  they  delivered  the  prisoner 
without  any  denial.  But  the  sergeant  having  then  further  in 
commandment  from  those  of  the  nether  house,  charged  the  said 
sheriffs  to  appear  personally  on  the  morrow,  by  eight  of  the  clock 
before  the  speaker  in  the  nether  house,  and  to  bring  thither  the 
clerks  of  the  Compter,  and  such  officers  as  were  parties  to  the  said 
affray,  and  in  like  manner  to  take  into  his  custody  the  said  White, 
which  wittingly  procured  the  said  arrest,  in  contempt  of  the  privi- 
lege of  the  parliament. 

Which  commandment  being  done  by  the  said  sergeant  accord- 
ingly, on  the  morrow  the  two  sheriffs,  with  one  of  the  clerks  of  the 
Compter  (which  was  the  chief  occasion  of  the  said  affray)  together 
with  the  said  White,  appeared  in  the  commons  house,  where  the 
speaker  charging  them  with  their  contempt  and  misdemeanour 
aforesaid,  they  were  compelled  to  make  immediate  answer,  with- 
out being  admitted  to  any  counsel.  Albeit,  Sir  Roger  Cholmeley, 
then  recorder  of  London,  and  other  of  the  counsel  of  the  city 
there  present,  offered  to  speak  in  the  cause,  which  were  all  put 
to  silence,  and  none  suffered  to  speak,  but  the  parties  themselves : 
whereupon,  in  conclusion,  the  said  sheriffs  and  the  same  White 
were  committed  to  the  Tower  of  London,  and  the  said  clerk  (which 
was  the  occasion  of  the  affray)  to  a  place  there  called  Little  Ease, 
and  the  officer  of  London  which  did  the  arrest,  called  Taylor,  with 
four  other  officers,  to  Newgate,  where  they  remained  from  the 
eighth  and  twentieth  until  the  thirtieth  of  March,  and  then  they 
were  delivered,  not  without  humble  suit  made  by  the  mayor  of 
London  and  other  their  friends. 

And  for  so  much  as  the  said  Ferrers  being  in  execution  upon  a 
condemnation  of  debt,  and  set  at  large  by  privilege  of  parliament, 
was  not  by  law  to  be  brought  again  into  execution,  and  so  the 
party  without  remedy  for  his  debt,  as  well  against  him  as  his 


Ferrers'  Case  263 

principal  debtor ;  after  long  debate  of  the  same  by  the  space  of 
nine  or  ten  days  together,  at  last  they  resolved  upon  an  act  of 
parliament  to  be  made,  and  to  revive  the  execution  of  the  said 
debt  against  the  said  Weldon  which  was  principal  debtor,  and  to 
discharge  the  said  Ferrers.  But  before  this  came  to  pass,  the 
commons  house  was  divided  upon  the  question  :  howbeit  in  con- 
clusion, the  act  passed  for  the  said  Ferrers,  won  by  fourteen 
voices. 

The  king  then  being  advertised  of  all  this  proceeding,  called 
immediately  before  him  the  lord  chancellor  of  England  and  his 
judges,  with  the  speaker  of  the  parliament,  and  other  of  the 
gravest  persons  of  the  nether  house,  to  whom  he  declared  his 
opinion  to  this  effect.  First  commending  their  wisdoms  in  main- 
taining the  privileges  of  their  house  (which  he  would  not  have  to 
be  infringed  in  any  point)  he  alleged  that  he  being  head  of  the 
parliament,  and  attending  in  his  own  person  upon  the  business 
thereof,  ought  in  reason  to  have  privilege  for  him  and  all  his 
servants  attending  there  upon  him.  So  that  if  the  said  Ferrers  had 
been  no  burgess,  but  only  his  servant,  yet  in  respect  thereof  he 
was  to  have  the  privilege  as  well  as  any  other. 

For  I  understand  (quoth  he)  that  you  not  only  for  your  own 
persons,  but  also  for  your  necessary  servants,  even  to  your  cooks 
and  housekeepers,  enjoy  the  said  privilege  ;  insomuch  as  my  lord 
chancellor  here  present  hath  informed  us,  that  he  being  speaker 
of  the  parliament,  the  cook  of  the  Temple  was  arrested  in  Lon- 
don, and  in  execution  upon  a  statute  of  the  staple.  And  forso- 
much  as  the  said  cook,  during  all  the  parliament,  served  the 
speaker  in  that  office,  he  was  taken  out  of  execution,  by  the  priv- 
ilege of  the  parliament.  And  further  we  be  informed  by  our 
judges,  that  we  at  no  time  stand  so  highly  in  our  estate  royal,  as 
in  the  time  of  parliament,  wherein  we  as  head,  and  you  as  mem- 
bers, are  conjoined  and  knit  together  into  one  body  politic,  so  as 
whatsoever  offense  or  injury  (during  that  time)  is  offered  to  the 
meanest  member  of  the  house,  is  to  be  judged  as  done  against  our 
person,  and  the  whole  court  of  parliament.  Which  prerogative 
of  the  court  is  so  great  (as  our  learned  counsel  informeth  us)  as 
all  acts  and  processes  coming  out  of  any  other  inferior  courts 
must  for  the  time  cease  and  give  place  to  the  highest. 


Whereupon  Sir  Edward  Montacute,  lord  chief  justice,  very 
gravely  told  his  opinion,  confirming  by  divers  reasons  all  that  the 
king  had  said,  which  was  assented  unto  by  all  the  residue,  none 


264  English  Constitutional  Documents 

speaking  to  the  contrary.  The  act  indeed  passed  not  the  higher 
house,  for  the  lords  had  not  time  to  consider  of  it,  by  reason 
of  the  dissolution  of  the  parliament,  the  feast  of  Easter  then 
approaching.  Because  this  case  hath  been  diversely  reported, 
and  is  commonly  alleged  as  a  precedent  for  the  privilege  of  the 
parliament ;  I  have  endeavoured  myself  to  learn  the  truth  thereof, 
and  so  set  it  forth  with  the  whole  circumstance  at  large  accord- 
ing to  their  instructions,  who  ought  best  both  to  know  and 
remember  it. 


157.    Act  Fixing  the  Succession 

(1544.     35  Henry  VIII.  c.  I.     3  S.  R.  955.) 

WHERE  in  the  parliament  held  at  Westminster  the  eighth 
day  of  June  in  the  twenty-eighth  year  of  the  reign  of  our  most 
dread  sovereign  lord  King  Henry  the  Eighth  an  act  was  had  and 
made  for  the  establishment  of  the  succession  of  the  imperial 
crown  of  this  realm  of  England,  by  which  act  among  divers  other 
things  it  was  enacted,  that  the  imperial  crown  of  this  realm  with 
all  dignities,  honours,  preeminences,  prerogatives,  authorities  and 
jurisdictions  to  the  same  annexed  or  belonging  should  be  to  the 
king's  majesty  and  his  heirs  of  his  body  lawfully  begotten,  that  is 
to  say,  to  the  first  son  of  his  body  between  His  Highness  and  his 
then  lawful  wife  Queen  Jane,  now  deceased,  begotten,  and  to  the 
heirs  of  the  body  of  the  same  first  son  lawfully  begotten,  and  for 
default  of  such  heirs,  then  to  the  second  son  of  His  Highness' 
body  and  of  the  body  of  the  said  Queen  Jane  begotten,  and  to 
the  heirs  of  the  body  of  the  same  second  son  begotten,  with  divers 
other  limitations  of  the  estates,  conveyance  and  remainders  of  the 
said  imperial  crown  and  other  the  premises :  and  it  was  also 
enacted  further  by  the  said  statute,  that  for  lack  of  issue  of  our 
said  sovereign  lord  the  king's  body  lawfully  begotten,  that  then 
His  Highness  should  and  might  give,  will,  limit,  assign,  appoint  or 
dispose  the  said  imperial  crown  and  other  the  premises  to  what 
person  or  persons,  and  give  the  same  person  or  persons  such 
estate  in  the  same,  as  it  should  please  His  Majesty  by  his  gracious 
letters  patents  under  the  great  seal,  or  by  his  last  will  in  writing 
signed  with  his  most  gracious  hand ;  as  by  the  same  act  among 
divers  other  things  therein  contained  more  at  large  it  doth  appear : 


Act  Fixing  the  Succession  265 

since  the  making  of  which  act,  the  king's  majesty  hath  one  only 
issue  of  his  body  lawfully  begotten  betwixt  His  Highness  and  his 
said  late  wife  Queen  Jane,  the  noble  and  excellent  prince,  Prince 
Edward,  whom  Almighty  God  long  preserve ;  and  also  His 
Majesty  hath  now  of  late,  since  the  death  of  the  said  Queen  Jane, 
taken  to  his  wife  the  most  virtuous  and  gracious  Lady  Katherine, 
now  queen  of  England,  late  wife  of  John  Neville,  knight,  Lord 
Latimer  deceased,  by  whom  as  yet  His  Majesty  hath  none  issue, 
but  may  have  full  well  when  it  shall  please  God ;  and  forasmuch 
as  our  said  most  dread  sovereign  lord  the  king,  upon  good  and 
just  grounds  and  causes,  intendeth  by  God's  grace  to  make  a  voy- 
age royal  in  His  Majesty's  most  royal  person  into  the  realm  of 
France,  against  his  ancient  enemy  the  French  king ;  His  Highness 
most  prudently  and  wisely  considering  and  calling  to  his  remem- 
brance how  this  realm  standeth  at  this  present  time  in  the  case  of 
succession,  and  poising  and  weighing  further  with  himself  the 
great  trust  and  confidence  that  his  loving  subjects  have  had  and 
have  in  him,  putting  in  his  hands  wholly  the  order  and  declara- 
tion of  the  succession  of  this  realm ;  recognizing  and  acknowledg- 
ing also  that  it  is  in  the  only  pleasure  and  will  of  Almighty  God  how 
long  His  Highness  or  his  said  entirely  beloved  son,  Prince  Ed- 
ward, shall  live,  and  whether  the  said  prince  shall  have  heirs  of  his 
body  lawfully  begotten  or  not,  or  whether  His  Highness  shall  have 
heirs  begotten  and  procreated  between  His  Majesty  and  his  said 
most  dear  and  entirely  beloved  wife  Queen  Katherine  that  now  is, 
or  any  lawful  heirs  and  issues  hereafter  of  his  own  body  begotten 
by  any  other  his  lawful  wife;  and  albeit  that  the  king's  most 
excellent  majesty,  for  default  of  such  heirs  as  be  inheritable  by 
the  said  act,  might  by  the  authority  of  the  said  act,  give  and  dis- 
pose the  said  imperial  crown  and  other  the  premises  by  his  letters 
patents  under  his  great  seal,  or  by  his  last  will  in  writing  signed 
with  his  most  gracious  hand,  to  any  person  or  persons  of  such 
estate  therein  as  should  please  His  Highness  to  limit  and  appoint ; 
yet  to  the  intent  that  His  Majesty's  disposition  and  mind  therein 
should  be  openly  declared  and  manifestly  known  and  notified,  as 
well  to  the  lords  spiritual  and  temporal  as  to  all  other  his  loving 
and  obedient  subjects  of  this  his  realm,  to  the  intent  that  their 
assent  and  consent  might  appear  to  concur  with  thus  far  as  follow- 
eth  of  His  Majesty's  declaration  in  this  behalf;  His  Majesty  there- 
fore thinketh  convenient  afore  his  departure  beyond  the  seas, 
that  it  be  enacted  by  His  Highness  with  the  assent  of  the  lords 
spiritual  and  temporal  and  the  commons  in  this  present  parlia- 
ment assembled  and  by  authority  of  the  same,  and  therefore  be  it 


266          English  Constitutional  Documents 

enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  that  in  case  it  shall  happen 
the  king's  majesty  and  the  said  excellent  prince  his  yet  only  son 
Prince  Edward  and  heir  apparent,  to  decease  without  heir  of 
either  of  their  bodies  lawfully  begotten  (as  God  defend)  so  that 
there  be  no  such  heir  male  or  female  of  any  of  their  two  bodies, 
to  have  and  inherit  the  said  imperial  crown  and  other  his  domin- 
ions, according  and  in  such  manner  and  form  as  in  the  aforesaid 
act  and  now  in  this  is  declared,  that  then  the  said  imperial  crown 
and  all  other  the  premises  shall  be  to  the  Lady  Mary,  the  king's 
Highness'  daughter,  and  to  the  heirs  of  the  body  of  the  same  Lady 
Mary  lawfully  begotten,  with  such  conditions  as  by  His  Highness 
shall  be  limited  by  his  letters  patents  under  his  great  seal,  or 
by  His  Majesty's  last  will  in  writing  signed  with  his  gracious 
hand ;  and  for  default  of  such  issue  the  said  imperial  crown 
and  other  the  premises  shall  be  to  the  Lady  Elizabeth,  the  king's 
second  daughter,  and  to  the  heirs  of  the  body  of  the  said 
Lady  Elizabeth  lawfully  begotten,  with  such  conditions  as  by  His 
Highness  shall  be  limited  by  his  letters  patents  under  his  great 
seal,  or  by  His  Majesty's  last  will  in  writing  signed  with  his  gra- 
cious hand  ;  anything  in  the  said  act  made  in  the  said  twenty-eighth 
year  of  our  said  sovereign  lord  to  the  contrary  of  this  act  not- 
withstanding. 


IV.  Provided  alway,  that  if  the  said  Lady  Mary  do  not  keep 
and  perform  such  conditions  as  shall  be  limited  and  appointed  to 
her  said  estate  in  the  said  imperial  crown  and  other  the  premises 
as  is  aforesaid,  and  the  said  Lady  Elizabeth  being  then  dead  with- 
out any  heir  of  her  body  lawfully  begotten,  that  then  and  from 
thenceforth  for  lack  of  heirs  of  the  several  bodies  of  the  king's 
majesty  and  the  said  lord  prince  lawfully  begotten,  the  said  im- 
perial crown  and  other  the  premises  shall  be,  come  and  remain  to 
such  person  and  persons  and  of  such  estate  and  estates  as  the  king's 
highness  by  his  letters  patents  sealed  under  his  great  seal,  or  by 
his  last  will  in  writing  signed  with  His  Majesty's  hand  shall  limit 
and  appoint. 

V.  Provided  always  and  be  it  enacted  by  authority  aforesaid, 
that  in  case  the  king's  majesty  do  not  declare  and  limit  by  his 
letters  patents  or  by  his  last  will  in  form  as  is  aforesaid  any  con- 
dition to  the  estates  and  interests  afore  limited  to  the  said  Lady 
Mary  and  Lady  Elizabeth,  nor  to  the  estate  or  interest  of  any  of 
them,  that  then  every  such  of  the  said  Lady  Mary  and  Lady  Eliza- 
beth, to  whose  estate  or  interest  no  condition  shall  be  limited  by 


Act  Fixing  the  Succession  267 

the  king's  majesty  in  form  aforesaid,  shall  have  and  enjoy  such 
interest,  estate  and  remainder  in  the  said  imperial  crown  and  other 
the  premises  as  is  before  limited  by  this  act,  without  any  manner 
of  condition ;  anything  in  this  present  act  to  the  contrary  thereof 
notwithstanding. 

VI.  And  forasmuch  as  it  standeth  in  the  only  pleasure  and  will 
of  Almighty  God,  whether  the  king's  majesty  shall  have  any  heirs 
begotten  and  procreated  between  His  Highness  and  his  said  most 
entirely  beloved  wife  Queen  Katherine,  or  by  any  other  his  lawful 
wife,  or  whether  the  said  Prince  Edward  shall  have  issue  of  his 
body  lawfully  begotten,  or  whether  the  Lady  Mary  and  Lady 
Elizabeth  or  any  of  them  shall  have  any  issue  of  any  of  their  sev- 
eral bodies  lawfully  begotten,  and  if  such  heirs  should  fail  (which 
God  defend)  and  no  provision  made  in  the  king's  life  who  should 
rule  and  govern  this  realm  for  lack  of  such  heirs  as  in  this  present 
act  is  afore  mentioned,  that  then  this  realm  after  the  king's  transi- 
tory life  and  for  lack  of  such  heirs,  should  be  destitute  of  a  lawful 
governor  to  order,  rule  and  govern  the  same ;  be  it  therefore 
enacted  by  the  authority  of  this  present  parliament,  that  the 
king's  Highness  shall  have  full  power  and  authority  to  give,  dis- 
pose, appoint,  assign,  declare  and  limit,  by  his  gracious  letters 
patents  under  his  great  seal,  or  else  by 'His  Highness'  last  will 
made  in  writing  and  signed  with  his  most  gracious  hand,  at  his 
only  pleasure  from  time  to  time  hereafter,  the  imperial  crown  of 
this  realm  and  all  other  the  premises,  to  be,  remain,  succeed  and 
come,  after  his  decease  and  for  lack  of  lawful  heirs  of  either  of 
the  bodies  of  the  king's  Highness  and  Prince  Edward  begotten, 
and  also  for  lack  of  lawful  heirs  of  the  bodies  of  the  said  Lady 
Mary  and  Lady  Elizabeth  to  be  procreated  and  begotten  as  is 
afore  limited  in  this  act,  to  such  person  or  persons  in  remainder 
or  reversion  as  shall  please  His  Highness,  and  according  to  such 
estate  and  after  such  manner  and  form,  fashion,  order  or  condi- 
tion as  shall  be  expressed,  declared,  named  and  limited  in  His 
Highness'  letters  patents,  or  by  his  last  will  in  writing  signed  with 
his  most  gracious  hand  as  is  afore  said  ;  anything  contained  in  this 
present  act  or  in  the  said  former  act  to  the  contrary  thereof  in  any 
wise  notwithstanding. 


268  English  Constitutional  Documents 


158.    Act  concerning  Treasons  committed  out 
of  the  Realm 

(1544.    35  Henry  VIII.  c.  2.     3  S.  R.  958.) 

T^ORASMUCH  as  some  doubts  and  questions  have  been  moved, 
-T  that  certain  kinds  of  treasons,  misprisions  and  concealments 
of  treasons,  done,  perpetrated  or  committed  out  of  the  king's 
majesty's  realm  of  England  and  other  His  Grace's  dominions, 
cannot  nor  may  by  the  common  laws  of  this  realm  be  inquired  of, 
heard  and  determined  within  this  his  said  realm  of  England ;  for 
a  plain  remedy,  order  and  declaration  therein  to  be  had  and  made, 
be  it  enacted  by  authority  of  this  present  parliament,  that  all  man- 
ner of  offences  being  already  made  or  declared,  or  hereafter  to  be 
made  or  declared  by  any  the  laws  and  statutes  of  this  realm,  to 
be  treasons,  misprisions  of  treasons  or  concealments  of  treasons, 
and  done,  perpetrated  or  committed  or  hereafter  to  be  done,  per- 
petrated or  committed  by  any  person  or  persons  out  of  this  realm 
of  England,  shall  be  from  henceforth  inquired  of,  heard  and  deter- 
mined before  the  king's  justices  of  his  bench  for  pleas  to  be  held 
before  himself,  by  good  and  lawful  men  of  the  same  shire  where 
the  said  bench  shall  sit  and  be  kept,  or  else  before  such  commis- 
sioners and  in  such  shire  of  the  realm  as  shall  be  assigned  by  the 
king's  majesty's  commission,  and  by  good  and  lawful  men  of  the 
same  shire;  in  like  manner  and  form  to  all  intents  and  purposes 
as  if  such  treasons,  misprisions  of  treasons  or  concealments  of 
treasons  had  been  done,  perpetrated  and  committed  within  the 
same  shire  where  they  shall  be  so  inquired  of,  heard  and  deter- 
mined as  is  aforesaid. 

II.  Provided  always  that  if  any  the  peers  of  this  realm  shall 
happen  to  be  indicted  of  any  such  treason  or  other  offences  afore- 
said by  authority  of  this  act,  that  then  after  such  indictment  they 
shall  have  their  trial  by  their  peers  in  such  like  manner  and  form 
as  hath  heretofore  been  accustomed. 


Act  for  the  Dissolution  of  Chantries         269 


159.    Act  for  the  Dissolution  of  Chantries 

(1547.     i  Edward  VI.  c.  14.    4  S.  R.  24,    The  whole  act  reprinted  in  G. 
and  H.  328-3570 

THE  king's  most  loving  subjects,  the  Lords  spiritual  and  tem- 
poral, and  the  Commons,  in  this  present  Parliament  assembled, 
considering  that  a  great  part  of  superstition  and  errors  in  Chris- 
tian religion  has  been  brought  into  the  minds  and  estimations  of 
men,  by  reason  of  the  ignorance  of  their  very  true  and  perfect 
salvation  through  the  death  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  by  devising  and 
phantasying  vain  opinions  of  purgatory  and  masses  satisfactory  to 
be  done  for  them  which  be  departed,  the  which  doctrine  and 
vain  opinion  by  nothing  more  is  maintained  and  upholden,  than 
by  the  abuse  of  trentals,  chantries,  and  other  provisions  made  for 
the  continuance  of  the  said  blindness  and  ignorance  ;  and  further 
considering  and  understanding,  that  the  alteration,  change,  and 
amendment  of  the  same,  and  converting  to  good  and  godly  uses, 
as  in  erecting  of  grammar  schools  to  the  education  of  youth  in 
virtue  and  godliness,  the  further  augmenting  of  the  universities, 
and  better  provision  for  the  poor  and  needy,  cannot,  in  this  pres- 
ent Parliament,  be  provided  and  conveniently  done,  nor  cannot 
nor  ought  to  have  any  other  manner  person  to  be  committed,  than 
to  the  king's  highness,  whose  majesty,  with  and  by  the  advice  of 
his  highness's  most  prudent  council,  can  and  will  most  wisely  and 
beneficially,  both  for  the  honour  of  God  and  the  weal  of  this  his 
majesty's  realm,  order,  alter,  convert,  and  dispose  the  same ; 


IX.  And  furthermore  be  it  ordained  and  enacted  by  the  authority 
aforesaid,  that  the  king  our  sovereign  lord  shall,  from  the  said  feast 
of  Easter  next  coming,  have  and  enjoy  to  him,  his  heirs  and  suc- 
cessors for  ever,  all  fraternities,  brotherhoods,  and  guilds,  being 
within  the  realm  of  England  and  Wales,  and  other  the  king's 
dominions ;  and  all  manors,  lands,  tenements,  and  other  heredit- 
aments belonging  to  them  or  any  of  them  —  other  than  such 
corporations,  guilds,  fraternities,  companies,  and  fellowships  of 
mysteries  or  crafts,  and  the  manors,  lands,  tenements,  and  other 
hereditaments  pertaining  to  the  said  corporations,  guilds,  fraterni- 
ties, companies,  and  fellowships  of  mysteries  or  crafts  above  men- 
tioned —  and  shall  by  virtue  of  this  Act  be  judged  and  deemed 
in  the  actual  and  real  possession  of  our  said  sovereign  lord  the 


270  English  Constitutional   Documents 

king,  his  heirs  and  successors,  from  the  said  feast  of  Easter  next 
coming,  for  ever,  without  any  inquisition  or  office  thereof  to  be 
had  or  found. 


XI.  And  also  that  the  same  commissioners,  or  two  of  them 
at  the  least,  by  virtue  of  this  Act  and  of  the  commission  to  them 
directed,  shall  have  full  power  and  authority  to  assign,  and  shall 
appoint  (in  every  such  place  where  guild,  fraternity,  [or]  the 
priest  or  incumbent  of  any  chantry  in  esse,  the  first  day  of  this 
present  Parliament,  by  the  foundation  ordinance  or  the  first  insti- 
tution thereof,  should  or  ought  to  have  kept  a  grammar  school 
or  a  preacher,  and  so  has  done  since  the  feast  of  St.  Michael  the 
Archangel  last  past)  lands,  tenements,  and  other  hereditaments 
of  every  such  chantry,  guild,  and  fraternity  to  remain  and  con- 
tinue in  succession  to  a  schoolmaster  or  preacher  for  ever,  for 
and  toward  the  keeping  of  a  grammar  school  or  preaching,  and 
for  such  godly  intents  and  purposes,  and  in  such  manner  and 
form,  as  the  same  commissioners,  or  two  of  them  at  the  least, 
shall  assign  or  appoint. 

And  also  to  make  and  ordain  a  vicar  to  have  perpetuity  for 
ever  in  every  parish  church,  the  first  day  of  this  present  Par- 
liament, being  a  college,  free  chapel,  or  chantry,  or  appropriated, 
annexed,  or  united  to  any  college,  free  chapel,  or  chantry,  that 
shall  come  to  the  king's  hands  by  virtue  of  this  Act,  and  to  en- 
dow every  such  vicar  sufficiently,  having  respect  to  his  cure  and 
charge ;  the  same  endowment  to  be  to  every  such  vicar,  and  to 
his  successors  for  ever,  without  any  other  licence  or  grant  of  the 
king,  the  bishop,  or  other  officers  of  the  diocese. 

And  also  the  said  commissioners,  or  two  of  them  at  the 
least,  shall  have  authority  by  force  of  this  Act,  to  assign  in  every 
great  town  or  parish,  where  they  shall  think  necessary  to  have 
more  priests  than  one,  for  the  ministering  of  the  sacraments  within 
the  same  town  or  parish,  lands  and  tenements  belonging  to  any 
chantry,  chapel,  or  stipendiary  priests,  being  within  the  same  town 
or  parish  the  first  day  of  this  present  Parliament,  to  be  to  such 
person  and  persons  as  the  said  commissioners,  or  two  of  them  at 
the  least,  shall  assign  or  appoint  to  continue  in  succession  for 
ever,  for  and  towards  the  sufficient  finding  and  maintenance  of 
one  or  more  priests  within  the  same  town  or  parish,  as  by  the  said 
commissioners,  or  two  of  them,  shall  be  thought  necessary  or 
convenient ;  and  as  well  to  make  ordinances  and  rules  concerning 
the  service,  use,  and  demeanour  of  every  such  priest  and  school- 


Act  for  the  Dissolution  of  Chantries        271 

master,  as  is  aforesaid,  to  be  appointed,  as  also  by  what  name  or 
names  he  and  they  shall  from  henceforth  be  named  and  called. 


XIX.  Provided  always,  and  be  it  ordained  and  enacted  by  the 
authority  aforesaid,  that  this  Act,  or  any  article,  clause,  or  matter 
contained  in  the  same,  shall  not  in  any  wise  extend  to  any  college, 
hostel,  or  hall  being  within  either  of  the  Universities  of  Cambridge 
and  Oxford ;  nor  to  any  chantry  founded  in  any  of  the  colleges, 
hostels,  or  halls  being  in  the  same  Universities ;  nor  to  the  free 
chapel  of  St.  George  the  Martyr,  situate  in  the  castle  of  Windsor ; 
nor  to  the  college  called  St.  Mary's  College  of  Winchester  beside 
Winchester,  of  the  foundation  of  Bishop  Wykeham ;  nor  to  the 
college  of  Eton ;  nor  to  the  parish  church  commonly  called  the 
Chapel  in  the  Sea  in  Newton,  within  the  isle  of  Ely,  hi  the  county 
of  Cambridge ;  nor  to  any  manors,  lands,  tenements,  or  heredita- 
ments to  them  or  any  of  them  pertaining  or  belonging ;  nor  to  any 
chapel  made  or  ordained  for  the  ease  of  the  people  dwelling  dis- 
tant from  the  parish  church,  or  such  like  chapel  whereunto  no 
more  lands  or  tenements  than  the  churchyard  or  a  little  house 
or  close  does  belong  or  pertain ;  nor  to  any  cathedral  church  or 
college  where  a  bishop's  see  is,  within  this  realm  of  England  or 
in  Wales,  nor  to  the  manors,  lands,  tenements,  or  other  heredita- 
ments of  any  of  them,  other  than  to  such  chantries,  obits,  lights, 
and  lamps,  or  any  of  them,  as  at  any  time  within  five  years  next 
before  the  beginning  of  this  present  Parliament  have  been  had, 
used,  or  maintained  within  the  said  cathedral  churches,  or  within 
any  of  them,  or  of  the  issues,  revenues,  or  profits  of  any  of  the 
said  cathedral  churches,  to  which  chantries,  obits,  lights,  and 
lamps  it  is  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid  that  this  Act  shall 
extend. 


XXXIV.  Provided  also,  and  be  it  enacted  by  the  authority  afore- 
said, that  this  present  Act,  nor  anything  therein  contained,  shall  in 
any  wise  extend  or  be  prejudicial  or  hurtful  to  the  general  cor- 
poration of  any  city,  borough,  or  town  within  this  realm,  or  any 
other  the  king's  dominions,  nor  shall  extend  to  any  the  lands  or 
hereditaments  of  them  or  any  of  them  :  anything  herein  contained 
to  the  contrary  in  any  wise  notwithstanding. 


272          English  Constitutional  Documents 
1 60.    First  Act  of  Uniformity  of  Edward  VI 

(1549.    2  &  3  Edward  VI.  c.i.    4  S.  H.  37.    G.  and  H.  358-366.) 

WHERE  of  long  time  there  has  been  had  in  this  realm  of 
England  and  in  Wales  divers  forms  of  common  prayer,  com- 
monly called  the  service  of  the  Church  ;  that  is  to  say,  the  Use  of 
Sarum,  of  York,  of  Bangor,  and  of  Lincoln  ;  and  besides  the  same 
now  of  late  much  more  divers  and  sundry  forms  and  fashions  have 
been  used  in  the  cathedral  and  parish  churches  of  England  and 
Wales,  as  well  concerning  the  Matins  or  Morning  Prayer  and  the 
Evensong,  as  also  concerning  the  Holy  Communion,  commonly 
called  the  Mass,  with  divers  and  sundry  rites  and  ceremonies  con- 
cerning the  same,  and  in  the  administration  of  other  sacraments 
of  the  Church :  and  as  the  doers  and  executors  of  the  said  rites 
and  ceremonies,  in  other  form  than  of  late  years  they  have  been 
used,  were  pleased  therewith,  so  others,  not  using  the  same  rites 
and  ceremonies,  were  thereby  greatly  offended ; 

And  albeit  the  king's  majesty,  with  the  advice  of  his  most  en- 
tirely beloved  uncle,  the  lord  protector,  and  other  of  his  high- 
ness's  council,  has  heretofore  divers  times  essayed  to  stay  innova- 
tions or  new  rites  concerning  the  premises ;  yet  the  same  has  not 
had  such  good  success  as  his  highness  required  in  that  behalf: 

Whereupon  his  highness  by  the  most  prudent  advice  aforesaid, 
being  pleased  to  bear  with  the  frailty  and  weakness  of  his 
subjects  in  that  behalf,  of  his  great  clemency  has  not  been  only 
content  to  abstain  from  punishment  of  those  that  have  offended 
in  that  behalf,  for  that  his  highness  taketh  that  they  did  it  of  a 
good  zeal ;  but  also  to  the  intent  a  uniform  quiet  and  godly  order 
should  be  had  concerning  the  premises,  has  appointed  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury,  and  certain  of  the  most  learned  and  discreet 
bishops,  and  other  learned  men  of  this  realm,  to  consider  and  pon- 
der the  premises ;  and  thereupon  having  as  well  eye  and  respect 
to  the  most  sincere  and  pure  Christian  religion  taught  by  the  Scrip- 
ture, as  to  the  usages  in  the  primitive  Church,  should  draw  and 
make  one  convenient  and  meet  order,  rite,  and  fashion  of  common 
and  open  prayer  and  administration  of  the  sacraments,  to  be  had 
and  used  in  his  majesty's  realm  of  England  and  in  Wales ;  the 
which  at  this  time,  by  the  aid  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  with  one  uniform 
agreement  is  of  them  concluded,  set  forth,  and  delivered  to  his 
highness,  to  his  great  comfort  and  quietness  of  mind,  in  a  book 


First  Act  of  Uniformity  of  Edward  VI      273 

entitled,  '  The  Book  of  the  Common  Prayer  and  Administration  of 
the  Sacraments,  and  other  Rites  and  Ceremonies  of  the  Church, 
after  the  Use  of  the  Church  of  England  ' : 

Wherefore  the  lords  spiritual  and  temporal,  and  the  com- 
mons, in  this  present  parliament  assembled,  considering  as  well 
the  most  godly  travail  of  the  king's  highness,  of  the  lord  protector, 
and  of  other  his  highness's  council,  in  gathering  and  collecting  the 
said  archbishop,  bishops,  and  learned  men  together,  as  the  godly 
prayers,  orders,  rites,  and  ceremonies  in  the  said  book  mentioned, 
and  the  considerations  of  altering  those  things  which  be  altered 
and  retaining  those  things  which  be  retained  in  the  said  book,  but 
also  the  honour  of  God  and  great  quietness,  which  by  the  grace  of 
God  shall  ensue  upon  the  one  and  uniform  rite  and  order  in  such 
common  prayer  and  rites  and  external  ceremonies  to  be  used 
throughout  England  and  in  Wales,  at  Calais  and  the  marches  of 
the  same,  do  give  to  his  highness  most  hearty  and  lowly  thanks  for 
the  same ;  and  humbly  pray,  that  it  may  be  ordained  and  enacted 
by  his  majesty,  with  the  assent  of  the  lords  and  commons  in  this 
present  parliament  assembled,  and  by  the  authority  of  the  same, 
that  all  and  singular  person  and  persons  that  have  offended  con- 
cerning the  premises,  other  than  such  person  and  persons  as  now 
be  and  remain  in  ward  in  the  Tower  of  London,  or  in  the  Fleet, 
may  be  pardoned  thereof;  and  that  all  and  singular  ministers  in 
any  cathedral  or  parish  church  or  other  place  within  this  realm  of 
England,  Wales,  Calais,  and  the  marches  of  the  same,  or  other  the 
king's  dominions,  shall,  from  and  after  the  feast  of  Pentecost  next 
coming,  be  bound  to  say  and  use  the  Matins,  Evensong,  celebra- 
tion of  the  Lord's  Supper,  commonly  called  the  Mass,  and  admin- 
istration of  each  of  the  sacraments,  and  all  their  common  and  open 
prayer,  in  such  order  and  form  as  is  mentioned  in  the  same  book, 
and  none  other  or  otherwise. 

And  albeit  that  the  same  be  so  godly  and  good,  that  they 
give  occasion  to  every  honest  and  conformable  man  most  willingly 
to  embrace  them,  yet  lest  any  obstinate  person  who  willingly  would 
disturb  so  godly  order  and  quiet  in  this  realm  should  not  go  unpun- 
ished, that  it  may  also  be  ordained  and  enacted  by  the  authority 
aforesaid,  that  if  any  manner  of  parson,  vicar,  or  other  whatsoever 
minister,  that  ought  or  should  sing  or  say  common  prayer  men- 
tioned in  the  said  book,  or  minister  the  sacraments,  shall  after  the 
said  feast  of  Pentecost  next  coming  refuse  to  use  the  said  common 
prayers,  or  to  minister  the  sacraments  in  such  cathedral  or  parish 
church  or  other  places  as  he  should  use  or  minister  the  same,  in 
such  order  and  form  as  they  be  mentioned  and  set  forth  in  the 
T 


274          English  Constitutional  Documents 

said  book ;  or  shall  use,  wilfully  and  obstinately  standing  in  the 
same,  any  other  rite,  ceremony,  order,  form,  or  manner  of  Mass 
openly  or  privily,  or  Matins,  Evensong,  administration  of  the  sacra- 
ments, or  other  open  prayer  than  is  mentioned  and  set  forth  in 
the  said  book  (open  prayer  in  and  throughout  this  Act,  is  meant 
that  prayer  which  is  for  other  to  come  unto  or  hear  either  in  com- 
mon churches  or  private  chapels  or  oratories,  commonly  called  the 
service  of  the  Church)  ;  or  shall  preach,  declare,  or  speak  any- 
thing in  the  derogation  or  depraving  of  the  said  book,  or  anything 
therein  contained,  or  of  any  part  thereof;  and  shall  be  thereof  law- 
fully convicted  according  to  the  laws  of  this  realm,  by  verdict  of 
twelve  men,  or  by  his  own  confession,  or  by  the  notorious  evidence 
of  the  fact :  —  shall  lose  and  forfeit  to  the  king's  highness,  his  heirs 
and  successors,  for  his  first  offence,  the  profit  of  such  one  of  his 
spiritual  benefices  or  promotions  as  it  shall  please  the  king's  high- 
ness to  assign  or  appoint,  coming  and  arising  in  one  whole  year 
next  after  his  conviction :  and  also  that  the  same  person  so  con- 
victed shall  for  the  same  offence  suffer  imprisonment  by  the  space 
of  six  months,  without  bail  or  mainprize  :  and  if  any  such  person 
once  convicted  of  any  offence  concerning  the  premises,  shall  after 
his  first  conviction  again  offend  and  be  thereof  in  form  aforesaid 
lawfully  convicted,  that  then  the  same  person  shall  for  his  second 
offence  suffer  imprisonment  by  the  space  of  one  whole  year,  and 
also  shall  therefore  be  deprived  ipso  facto  of  all  his  spiritual  pro- 
motions ;  and  that  it  shall  be  lawful  to  all  patrons,  donors,  and 
grantees  of  all  and  singular  the  same  spiritual  promotions,  to  pre- 
sent to  the  same  any  other  able  clerk,  in  like  manner  and  form  as 
though  the  party  so  offending  were  dead :  and  that  if  any  such 
person  or  persons,  after  he  shall  be  twice  convicted  in  form  afore- 
said, shall  offend  against  any  of  the  premises  the  third  time,  and 
shall  be  thereof  in  form  aforesaid  lawfully  convicted,  that  then  the 
person  so  offending  and  convicted  the  third  time  shall  suffer  im- 
prisonment during  his  life. 

And  if  the  person  that  shall  offend  and  be  convicted  in  form 
aforesaid  concerning  any  of  the  premises,  shall  not  be  beneficed 
nor  have  any  spiritual  promotion,  that  then  the  same  person  so 
offending  and  convicted  shall  for  the  first  offence  suffer  impris- 
onment during  six  months,  without  bail  or  mainprize  :  and  if  any 
such  person  not  having  any  spiritual  promotion,  after  his  first  con- 
viction shall  again  offend  in  anything  concerning  the  premises,  and 
shall  in  form  aforesaid  be  thereof  lawfully  convicted,  that  then  the 
same  person  shall  for  his  second  offence  suffer  imprisonment  during 
his  life. 


First  Act  of  Uniformity  of  Edward  VI      275 

II.  And  it  is  ordained  and  enacted  by  the  authority  abovesaid, 
that  if  any  person  or  persons  whatsoever,  after  the  said  feast  of 
Pentecost  next  coming,  shall  in  any  interludes,  plays,  songs,  rhymes, 
or  by  other  open  words  declare  or  speak  anything  in  the  deroga- 
tion, depraving,  or  despising  of  the  same  book  or  of  anything 
therein  contained,  or  any  part  thereof;  or  shall  by  open  fact, 
deed,  or  by  open  threatenings,  compel  or  cause,  or  otherwise  pro- 
cure or  maintain  any  parson,  vicar,  or  other  minister  in  any  cathe- 
dral or  parish  church,  or  in  any  chapel  or  other  place,  to  sing  or 
say  any  common  and  open  prayer,  or  to  minister  any  sacrament 
otherwise  or  in  any  other  manner  or  form  than  is  mentioned  in 
the  said  book ;  or  that  by  any  of  the  said  means  shall  unlawfully 
interrupt  or  let  any  parson,  vicar,  or  other  ministers  in  any  cathe- 
dral or  parish  church,  chapel,  or  any  other  place,  to  sing  or  say 
common  and  open  prayer,  or  to  minister  the  sacraments,  or  any 
of  them,  in  any  such  manner  and  form  as  is  mentioned  in  the  said 
book ;  that  then  every  person  being  thereof  lawfully  convicted  in 
form  abovesaid,  shall  forfeit  to  the  king  our  sovereign  lord,  his 
heirs  and  successors,  for  the  first  offence  ten  pounds.  And  if  any 
person  or  persons,  being  once  convicted  of  any  such  offence,  again 
offend  against  any  of  the  premises,  and  shall  in  form  aforesaid  be 
thereof  lawfully  convicted,  that  then  the  same  persons  so  offend- 
ing and  convicted  shall  for  the  second  offence  forfeit  to  the  king 
our  sovereign  lord,  his  heirs  and  successors,  twenty  pounds ;  and 
if  any  person  after  he,  in  form  aforesaid,  shall  have  been  twice 
convicted  of  any  offence  concerning  any  of  the  premises,  shall 
offend  the  third  time,  and  be  thereof  in  form  abovesaid  lawfully 
convicted,  that  then  every  person  so  offending  and  convicted  shall 
for  his  third  offence  forfeit  to  our  sovereign  lord  the  king  all  his 
goods  and  chattels,  and  shall  surfer  imprisonment  during  his  life  : 
and  if  any  person  or  persons,  that  for  his  first  offence  concerning 
the  premises  shall  be  convicted  in  form  aforesaid,  do  not  pay  the 
sum  to  be  paid  by  virtue  of  his  conviction,  in  such  manner  and 
form  as  the  same  ought  to  be  paid,  within  six  weeks  next  after  his 
conviction,  that  then  every  person  so  convicted,  and  so  not  paying 
the  same,  shall  for  the  same  first  offence,  instead  of  the  said  ten 
pounds,  surfer  imprisonment  by  the  space  of  three  months  without 
bail  or  mainprize.  And  if  any  person  or  persons,  that  for  his  sec- 
ond offence  concerning  the  premises  shall  be  convicted  in  form 
aforesaid,  do  not  pay  the  sum  to  be  paid  by  virtue  of  his  convic- 
tion, in  such  manner  and  form  as  the  same  ought  to  be  paid,  within 
six  weeks  next  after  his  said  second  conviction,  that  then  every 
person  so  convicted,  and  not  so  paying  the  same,  shall  for  the 


2j6  English  Constitutional  Documents 

same  second  offence,  instead  of  the  said  twenty  pounds,  suffer 
imprisonment  during  six  months  without  bail  or  mainprize. 

III.  And  it  is  ordained  and  enacted  by  the  authority  afore- 
said, that  all  and  every  justices  of  oyer  and  terminer,  or  justices  of 
assize,  shall  have  full  power  and  authority  in  every  of  their  open 
and  general  sessions  to  inquire,  hear,  and  determine  all  and  all 
manner  of  offences  that  shall  be  committed  or  done  contrary  to 
any  article  contained  in  this  present  Act,  within  the  limits  of  the 
commission  to  them  directed,  and  to  make  process  for  the  execu- 
tion of  the  same,  as  they  may  do  against  any  person  being  indicted 
before  them  of  trespass,  or  lawfully  convicted  thereof. 

IV.  Provided  always,  and  be  it  enacted  by  the  authority  afore- 
said, that  all  and  every  archbishop  and  bishop  shall  or  may  at  all 
time  and  times  at  his  liberty  and  pleasure  join  and  associate  him- 
self, by  virtue  of  this  Act,  to  the  said  justices  of  oyer  and  terminer, 
or  to  the  said  justices  of  assize,  at  every  of  the  said  open  and  gen- 
eral sessions  to  be  holden  in  any  place  within  his  diocese,  for  and 
to  the  inquiry,  hearing,  and  determining  of  the  offences  aforesaid. 

V.  Provided  always,  that  it  shall  be  lawful  to  any  man  that 
understands    the   Greek,  Latin,   and    Hebrew   tongue,  or  other 
strange  tongue,  to  say  and  have  the  said  prayers,  heretofore  speci- 
fied, of  Matins  and  Evensong  in  Latin,  or  any  such  other  tongue, 
saying  the  same  privately,  as  they  do  understand  ; 

VI.  And  for  the  further  encouraging  of  learning  in  the  tongues 
in  the  Universities  of  Cambridge  and  Oxford,  to  use  and  exercise 
in  their  common  and  open  prayer  in  their  chapels  (being  no  par- 
ish churches)  or  other  places  of  prayer,  the  Matins,   Evensong, 
Litany,  and  all  other  prayers   (the  Holy  Communion,  commonly 
called  the  Mass,  excepted)  prescribed  in  the  said  book,  in  Greek, 
Latin,  or  Hebrew ;  anything  in  this  present  Act  to  the  contrary 
notwithstanding. 

VII.  Provided  also,  that  it  shall  be  lawful  for  all  men,  as  well 
in  churches,  chapels,  oratories,  or  other  places,  to  use  openly  any 
psalm  or  prayer  taken  out  of  the  Bible,  at  any  due  time,  not  let- 
ting or  omitting  thereby  the  service  or  any  part  thereof  mentioned 
in  the  said  book. 

VIII.  Provided  also,  and  be  it  enacted  by  the  authority  afore- 
said, that  the  books  concerning  the  said  services  shall  at  the  costs 
and   charges  of  the  parishioners  of  every  parish  and  cathedral 
church  be  attained  and  gotten  before  the  feast  of  Pentecost  next  fol- 
lowing, or  before ;  and  that  all  such  parish  and  cathedral  churches, 
or  other  places  where  the  said  books  shall  be  attained  and  gotten 
before  the  said  feast  of  Pentecost,  shall  within  three  weeks  next 


First  Act  of  Uniformity  of  Edward  VI      277 

after  the  said  books  so  attained  and  gotten  use  the  said  service, 
and  put  the  same  in  use  according  to  this  Act. 

IX.  And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  that 
no  person  or  persons  shall  be  at  any  time  hereafter  impeached  or 
otherwise  molested  of  or  for  any  of  the  offences  above  mentioned, 
hereafter  to  be  committed  or  done  contrary  to  this  Act,  unless  he 
or  they  so  offending  be  thereof  indicted  at  the  next  general  ses- 
sions to  be  holden  before  any  such  of  the  justices  of  oyer  and 
terminer  or  justices  of  assize,  next  after  any  offence  committed 
or  done  contrary  to  the  tenor  of  this  Act. 

X.  Provided  always,  and  be  it  ordained  and  enacted  by  the 
authority  aforesaid,  that  all  and  singular  lords  in  the  Parliament, 
for  the  third  offence  above  mentioned,  shall  be  tried  by  their 
peers. 

XI.  Provided  also,  and  be  it  ordained  and  enacted  by  the 
authority  aforesaid,  that  the    Mayor  of  London,  and  all  other 
mayors,  bailiffs,  and  other  head  officers  of  all  and  singular  cities, 
boroughs,  and  towns  corporate  within  this  realm,  Wales,  Calais, 
and  the  marches  of  the  same,  to  the  which  justices  of  assize  do  not 
commonly  repair,  shall  have  full  power  and  authority  by  virtue  of 
this  Act  to  inquire,  hear,  and  determine  the  offences  abovesaid, 
and  every  of  them  yearly,  within  fifteen  days  after  the  feasts  of 
Easter  and  St.  Michael  the  Archangel,  in  like  manner  and  form  as 
justices  of  assize  and  oyer  and  terminer  may  do. 

XII.  Provided  always,  and  be  it  ordained  and  enacted  by  the 
authority  aforesaid,  that  all  and  singular  archbishops  and  bishops, 
and   every  of  their  chancellors,  commissaries,  archdeacons,  and 
other   ordinaries,  having   any  peculiar  ecclesiastical  jurisdiction, 
shall  have  full  power  and  authority  by  virtue  of  this  Act,  as  well  to 
inquire  in  their  visitations,  synods,  and  elsewhere  within  their  juris- 
diction, [or]  at  any  other  time  or  place,  to  take  accusations  and 
informations  of  all  and  every  the  things  above  mentioned,  done, 
committed,  or  perpetrated,  within  the  limits  of  their  jurisdiction 
and  authority,  and  to  punish  the  same  by  admonition,  excommuni- 
cation, sequestration,  or  deprivation,  and  other  censures  and  process, 
in  like  form  as  heretofore  has  been  used  in  like  cases  by  the  king's 
ecclesiastical  laws. 

XIII.  Provided  always,  and  be  it  enacted,  that  whatsoever  per- 
son offending  in  the  premises  shall  for  the  first  offence  receive 
punishment  of  the  ordinary,  having  a  testimonial  thereof  under 
the  said  ordinary's  seal,  shall  not  for  the  same  offence  again  be 
summoned  before  the  justices ;  and  likewise  receiving  for  the  said 
first  offence  punishment  by  the  justices,  he  shall  not  for  the 


278          English  Constitutional  Documents 

offence  again  receive  punishment  of  the  ordinary ;  anything  con- 
tained in  this  Act  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding. 


1 6 1 .    First  Mention  of  Lords  Lieutenant 

(1550.    3  &  4  Edward  VI.  c.  5.    4  S.  R.  107.) 


XIII.  PROVIDED  always  and  it  is  enacted  by  the  authority  above- 
said,  that  if  the  king  shall  by  his  letters  patents  make  any  lieu- 
tenant in  any  county  or  counties  of  this  realm,  for  the  suppressing 
of  any  commotion,  rebellion  or  unlawful  assembly,  that  then  as 
well  all  justices  of  peace  of  every  such  county  and  the  sheriffs  and 
sheriff  of  the  same,  as  all  mayors,  bailiffs  and  other  head  officers 
and  all  inhabitants  and  subjects  of  any  county,  city,  borough  or 
town  corporate  within  every  such  county,  shall  upon  the  declara- 
tion of  the  said  letters  patents  and  request  made  be  bound  to 
give  attendance  upon  the  same  lieutenant  to  suppress  any  commo- 
tion, rebellion  or  unlawful  assembly,  unless  he  or  they  being  so 
required  have  any  reasonable  excuse  for  his  not  attendance,  upon 
pain  of  imprisonment  for  one  whole  year. 


162.    Second  Act  of  Uniformity  of  Edward  VI 

(1552.     5  &  6  Edward  VI.  c.  i.    4  S.  R.  130.     G.  and  H.  369-372.) 

WHERE  there  has  been  a  very  godly  order  set  forth  by  the 
authority  of  Parliament,  for  common  prayer  and  administra- 
tion of  the  sacraments  to  be  used  in  the  mother  tongue  within 
the  Church  of  England,  agreeable  to  the  word  of  God  and  the 
primitive  Church,  very  comfortable  to  all  good  people  desiring  to 
live  in  Christian  conversation,  and  most  profitable  to  the  estate  of 
this  realm,  upon  the  which  the  mercy,  favour,  and  blessing  of 
Almighty  God  is  in  no  wise  so  readily  and  plenteously  poured  as 
by  common  prayers,  due  using  of  the  sacraments,  and  often 
preaching  of  [the]  gospel,  with  the  devotion  of  the  hearers  : 

And  yet  this  notwithstanding,  a  great  number  of  people  in 
divers  parts  of  this  realm,  following  their  own   sensuality,  and 


Second  Act  of  Uniformity  of  Edward  VI     279 

living  either  without  knowledge  or  due  fear  of  God,  do  wilfully 
and  damnably  before  Almighty  God  abstain  and  refuse  to  come 
to  their  parish  churches  and  other  places  where  common  prayer, 
administration  of  the  sacraments,  and  preaching  of  the  word  of 
God,  is  used  upon  the  Sundays,  and  other  days  ordained  to  be 
holy  days. 

II.  For  reformation  hereof,  be  it  enacted  by  the  king  our 
sovereign  lord,  with  the  assent  of  the  Lords  and  Commons  in  this 
present  Parliament  assembled,  and  by  the  authority  of  the  same, 
that  from  and  after  the  feast  of  All  Saints  next  coming,  all  and 
every  person  and   persons  inhabiting  within  this  realm,  or  any 
other  the  king's  majesty's  dominions,  shall  diligently  and  faithfully 
(having  no  lawful  or  reasonable  excuse  to  be  absent)  endeavour 
themselves  to  resort  to  their  parish  church  or  chapel  accustomed, 
or  upon  reasonable  let  thereof,  to  some  usual  place  where  common 
prayer  and  such  service  of  God  shall  be  used  in  such  time  of  let, 
upon  every  Sunday,  and  other  days  ordained  and  used  to  be  kept 
as  holy  days,  and  then  and  there  to  abide  orderly  and   soberly 
during  the  time  of  the  common  prayer,  preachings,  or  other  ser- 
vice of  God  there  to  be  used  and  ministered,  upon  pain  of  punish- 
ment by  the  censures  of  the  Church. 

III.  And  for  the  due  execution  hereof,  the  king's  most  excel- 
lent majesty,  the  Lords  temporal,  and  all  the  Commons  in  this 
present  [Parliament]  assembled,  do  in  God's  name  earnestly  re- 
quire and  charge  all  the  archbishops,  bishops,  and  other  ordinaries, 
that  they  shall  endeavour  themselves  to  the  uttermost  of  their 
knowledge,  that  the  due  and  true  execution  thereof  may  be  had 
throughout  their  dioceses  and  charges,  as  they  will  answer  before 
God  for  such  evils  and  plagues  wherewith  Almighty  God   may 
justly  punish  His  people  for  neglecting  this  good  and  wholesome 
law. 

IV.  And  for  their  authority  in  this  behalf,  be  it  further  likewise 
enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  that  all  and  singular  the  same 
archbishops,  bishops,  and  all  other  their  officers  exercising  eccle- 
siastical jurisdiction,  as  well  in  place  exempt  as  not  exempt,  within 
their  dioceses,  shall  have  full  power  and  authority  by  this  Act  to 
reform,  correct,  and  punish  by  censures  of  the  Church,  all  and 
singular  persons  which  shall  offend,  within  any  their  jurisdictions 
or  dioceses,  after  the  said  feast  of  All  Saints  next  coming,  against 
this  Act  and  statute ;  any  other  law,  statute,  privilege,  liberty,  or 
provision  heretofore  made,  had,  or  suffered  to  the  contrary  not- 
withstanding. 

V.  And  because  there  has  arisen  in  the  use  and  exercise  of 


280  English  Constitutional  Documents 

the  aforesaid  common  service  in  the  church,  heretofore  set  forth, 
divers  doubts  for  the  fashion  and  manner  of  the  ministration  of 
same,  rather  by  the  curiosity  of  the  minister,  and  mistakers,  than 
of  any  other  worthy  cause  : 

Therefore,  as  well  for  the  more  plain  and  manifest  explana- 
tion hereof,  as  for  the  more  perfection  of  the  said  order  of  com- 
mon service,  in  some  places  where  it  is  necessary  to  make  the 
same  prayers  and  fashion  of  service  more  earnest  and  fit  to  stir 
Christian  people  to  the  true  honouring  of  Almighty  God,  the  king's 
most  excellent  majesty,  with  the  assent  of  the  Lords  and  Commons 
in  this  present  Parliament  assembled,  and  by  the  authority  of  the 
same,  has  caused  the  aforesaid  order  of  common  service,  entitled, 
The  Book  of  Common  Prayer,  to  be  faithfully  and  godly  perused, 
explained,  and  made  fully  perfect,  and  by  the  aforesaid  authority 
has  annexed  and  joined  it,  so  explained  and  perfected,  to  this 
present  statute  :  adding  also  a  form  and  manner  of  making  and 
consecrating  archbishops,  bishops,  priests,  and  deacons,  to  be  of 
like  force,  authority,  and  value  as  the  same  like  aforesaid  book, 
entitled,  The  Book  of  Common  Prayer,  was  before,  and  to  be 
accepted,  received,  used,  and  esteemed  in  like  sort  and  manner, 
and  with  the  same  clauses  of  provisions  and  exceptions,  to  all 
intents,  constructions,  and  purposes,  as  by  the  Act  of  Parliament 
made  in  the  second  year  of  the  king's  majesty's  reign  was  ordained 
and  limited,  expressed  and  appointed  for  the  uniformity  of  service 
and  administration  of  the  sacraments  throughout  the  realm,  upon 
such  several  pains  as  in  the  said  Act  of  Parliament  is  expressed. 

And  the  said  former  Act  to  stand  in  full  force  and  strength, 
to  all  intents  and  constructions,  and  to  be  applied,  practised, 
and  put  in  use,  to  and  for  the  establishing  of  the  Book  of 
Common  Prayer,  now  explained  and  hereunto  annexed,  and  also 
the  said  form  of  making  of  archbishops,  bishops,  priests,  and  dea- 
cons hereunto  annexed,  as  it  was  for  the  former  book. 

VI.  And  by  the  authority  aforesaid  it  is  now  further  enacted, 
that  if  any  manner  of  person  or  persons  inhabiting  and  being 
within  this  realm,  or  any  other  the  king's  majesty's  dominions, 
shall  after  the  said  feast  of  All  Saints  willingly  and  wittingly  hear 
and  be  present  at  any  other  manner  or  form  of  common  prayer, 
of  administration  of  the  sacraments,  of  making  of  ministers  in  the 
churches,  or  of  any  other  rites  contained  in  the  book  annexed  to 
this  Act,  than  is  mentioned  and  set  forth  in  the  said  book,  or  that 
is  contrary  to  the  form  of  sundry  provisions  and  exceptions  con- 
tained in  the  aforesaid  former  statute,  and  shall  be  thereof  convicted 
according  to  the  laws  of  this  realm,  before  the  justices  of  assize, 


First  Act  of  Repeal  of  Mary  281 

justices  of  oyer  and  terminer,  justices  of  peace  in  their  sessions, 
or  any  of  them,  by  the  verdict  of  twelve  men,  or  by  his  or  their 
own  confession  or  otherwise,  shall  for  the  first  offence  suffer  impris- 
onment for  six  months,  without  bail  or  mainprize;  and  for  the 
second  offence,  being  likewise  convicted  as  is  abovesaid,  imprison- 
ment for  one  whole  year ;  and  for  the  third  offence  in  like  manner, 
imprisonment  during  his  or  their  lives. 

And  for  the  more  knowledge  to  be  given  hereof,  and  better 
observation  of  this  law,  be  it  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid, 
that  all  and  singular  curates  shall,  upon  one  Sunday  every  quarter 
of  the  year  during  one  whole  year  next  following  the  aforesaid  feast 
of  All  Saints  next  coming,  read  this  present  Act  in  the  church  at 
the  time  of  the  most  assembly,  and  likewise  once  in  every  year 
following;  at  the  same  time  declaring  unto  the  people,  by  the 
authority  of  the  Scripture,  how  the  mercy  and  goodness  of  God 
has  in  all  ages  been  showed  to  His  people  in  their  necessities  and 
extremities,  by  means  of  hearty  and  faithful  prayers  made  to 
Almighty  God,  especially  where  people  be  gathered  together  with 
one  faith  and  mind,  to  offer  up  their  hearts  by  prayer,  as  the  best 
sacrifices  that  Christian  men  can  yield. 


163.    First  Act  of  Repeal  of  Mary 

(1553.     I  Mary,  sess.  2,  c.  2.    ^S.Jl.  202.    G.  and  H.  377-379.) 

T^ORASMUCH  as  by  divers  and  several  Acts  hereafter  men- 
-F  tioned,  as  well  the  divine  service  and  good  administration 
of  the  sacraments,  as  divers  other  matters  of  religion,  which  we 
and  our  forefathers  found  hi  this  Church  of  England,  to  us  left  by 
the  authority  of  the  Catholic  Church,  be  partly  altered  and  in  some 
part  taken  from  us,  and  in  place  thereof  new  things  imagined  and 
set  forth  by  the  said  Acts,  such  as  a  few  of  singularity  have  of  them- 
selves devised,  whereof  has  ensued  amongst  us,  in  very  short  time, 
numbers  of  diverse  and  strange  opinions  and  diversities  of  sects, 
and  thereby  grown  great  unquietness  and  much  discord,  to  the 
great  disturbance  of  the  commonwealth  of  this  realm,  and  in  very 
short  time  like  to  grow  to  extreme  peril  and  utter  confusion  of  the 
same,  unless  some  remedy  be  in  that  behalf  provided,  which  thing 
all  true,  loving,  and  obedient  subjects  ought  and  are  bound  to 
foresee  and  provide,  to  the  uttermost  of  their  power.  In  consid- 
eration whereof,  be  it  enacted  and  established  by  the  queen's  high- 


282  English  Constitutional  Documents 

ness,  the  Lords  spiritual  and  temporal,  and  the  Commons  in  this 
same  present  Parliament  assembled,  and  by  the  authority  of  the 
same,  that  an  Act  made  in  the  Parliament  begun  at  Westminster 
the  fourth  day  of  November  in  the  first  year  of  the  reign  of  the 
late  King  Edward  VI,  and  from  thence  continued  to  the  twenty- 
fourth  day  of  December  then  next  ensuing,  that  is  to  say,  in  the 
first  session  of  the  same  Parliament,  entitled,  An  Act  against  such 
Persons  as  should  irreverently  speak  against  the  Sacrament  of  the 
Body  and  Blood  of  Christ,  commonly  called  the  Sacrament  of 
the  Altar,  and  for  the  receiving  thereof  in  both  kinds ;  and  also 
one  other  Act  in  the  same  session,  which  is  entitled,  An  Act  for 
the  Election  of  Bishops,  and  what  Seals  and  Styles  they  and  other 
spiritual  Persons  exercising  Jurisdiction  ecclesiastical  should  use ; 
and  also  one  other  Act  made  in  one  other  session  of  the  said  Par- 
liament holden  upon  prorogation  at  Westminster  the  fourth  day  of 
November  in  the  second  year  of  the  reign  of  the  said  late  King 
Edward  VI,  and  there  continued  and  kept  to  the  fourteenth  day 
of  March  in  the  third  year  of  the  said  late  king's  reign,  entitled, 
An  Act  for  the  Uniformity  of  Service  and  Administration  of  the 
Sacraments  throughout  the  Realm ;  and  also  one  other  Act  made 
in  the  session  last  before  [named],  which  is  entitled,  An  Act  to 
take  away  all  positive  Laws  made  against  the  Marriage  of  Priests ; 
and  also  one  other  Act  made  in  one  other  session  bf  the  said  Par- 
liament holden  upon  prorogation  at  Westminster  the  fourth  day 
of  November  in  the  third  year  of  the  reign  of  the  said  late  King 
Edward  VI,  and  there  continued  and  kept  to  the  first  day  of  Feb- 
ruary in  the  fourth  year  of  his  reign,  entitled,  An  Act  for  the 
abolishing  and  putting  away  of  divers  Books  and  Images;  and  also 
one  other  Act  made  in  the  same  session  last  before  mentioned, 
entitled,  An  Act  made  for  the  ordering  of  the  ecclesiastical  Minis- 
ters ;  and  also  one  other  Act  made  in  one  other  session  of  the 
said  Parliament  holden  upon  prorogation  at  Westminster  the 
twenty-third  day  of  January  in  the  fifth  year  of  the  reign  of  the  said 
late  King  Edward  VI,  and  there  continued  and  kept  till  the  fifteenth 
day  of  April  in  the  sixth  year  of  the  reign  of  the  said  late  king, 
entitled,  An  Act  for  the  Uniformity  of  Common  Prayer  and  the 
Administration  of  the  Sacraments  ;  and  one  other  Act  made  in 
the  same  last  session,  entitled,  An  Act  for  the  Keeping  of  Holy 
Days  and  Fasting  Days ;  and  one  other  Act  made  in  the  session 
last  recited,  entitled,  An  Act  made  for  the  Declaration  of  a  Statute 
made  for  the  Marriage  of  Priests  and  for  the  Legitimation  of  their 
Children ;  and  every  clause,  sentence,  branch,  article,  and  articles 
mentioned,  expressed,  or  contained  in  the  said  statutes  and  every 


Act  for  the  Marriage  of  Queen  Mary       283 

of  them  shall  be  from  henceforth  utterly  repealed,  void,  annihilated, 
and  of  none  effect,  to  all  purposes,  constructions,  and  intents ;  any 
thing  or  things  contained  or  specified  in  the  said  statutes  or  any 
of  them  to  the  contrary  in  any  wise  notwithstanding. 

II.  And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  that 
all  such  divine  service  and  administration  of  sacraments  as  were 
most  commonly  used  in  the  realm  of  England  in  the  last  year  of 
the  reign  of  our  late  sovereign  lord  King  Henry  VIII  shall  be, 
from  and  after  the  twentieth  day  of  December  in  this  present  year 
of  our  Lord   God    1553,  used   and    frequented   throughout   the 
whole  realm  of  England  and  all  other  the  queen's  majesty's  do- 
minions ;  and  that  no  other  kind  nor  order  of  divine  service  nor 
administration  of  sacraments  be,  after  the  said  twentieth  day  of 
December,    used   or   ministered  in   any  other  manner,  form,  or 
degree  within  the  said  realm  of  England,  or  other  the  queen's 
dominions,  than  was  most  commonly  used,  ministered,  and  fre- 
quented in  the  said  last  year  of  the  reign  of  the  said  late  King 
Henry  VIII. 

III.  And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  that 
no  person  shall  be  impeached  or  molested  in  body  or  goods  for 
using  heretofore,  or  until  the  said  twentieth  day  of  December,  the 
divine  service  mentioned  in  the  said  Acts  or  any  of  them,  nor  for 
the  using  of  the  old  divine  service  and  administration  of  sacra- 
ments, in  such  manner  and  form  as  was  used  in  the  Church  of 
England  before  the  making  of  any  of  the  said  Acts. 


164.    Act  for  the  Marriage  of  Queen  Mary  to 
Philip  of  Spain 

(1554.     i  Mary,  sess.  3.,  c.  2.    4  S.  R.  222.) 

WHEREAS  most  instant  suit  hath  been  made  to  your  most 
excellent  Majesty,  on  the  behalf  of  the  most  noble  and 
most  victorious  prince  Charles,  emperor  of  Rome,  &c.,  for  mar- 
riage to  be  had  between  your  Highness,  and  his  only  son  and 
heir  the  noble  prince  Philip  of  Spain,  &c. :  whereupon  to  the 
pleasure  of  Almighty  God,  to  the  comfort  of  your  most  noble 
person,  and  to  the  great  and  singular  honour,  wealth,  benefit  and 
commodity  of  this  your  realm  of  England,  and  of  all  us  your  most 
humble  and  obedient  subjects  of  the  same,  there  hath  passed  and 
been  concluded  in  two  sundry  treaties,  certain  pacts  and  cove- 


284  English  Constitutional   Documents 

nants  touching  the  said  marriage,  with  dependances  and  circum- 
stances of  the  same ;  and  in  the  one  treaty  these  articles  :  first,  it 
is  covenanted  and  agreed  that  as  soon  as  conveniently  may  be, 
true  and  perfect  marriage,  by  words  of  the  time  present,  shall 
be  contracted,  solemnized  and  consummated  in  England,  be- 
tween the  said  most  noble  prince,  and  the  said  most  virtuous 
lady,  the  queen ;  by  force  of  which  marriage  so  celebrated  and 
consummated,  the  said  most  noble  prince  Philip  shall  during 
the  said  marriage  have  and  enjoy  jointly  together  with  the  said 
most  gracious  queen  his  wife,  the  style,  honour  and  kingly  name 
of  the  realms  and  dominions  unto  the  said  most  noble  queen  ap- 
pertaining, and  shall  aid  her  Highness,  being  his  wife,  in  the 
happy  administration  of  her  Grace's  realms  and  dominions ;  the 
rights,  laws,  privileges  and  customs  of  the  same  realms  and  do- 
minions being  nevertheless  preserved  and  maintained  :  and  spe- 
cially it  is  provided  and  covenanted,  that  the  said  most  noble  prince 
shall  permit  and  suffer  the  said  most  gracious  queen  his  wife,  to 
have  the  whole  disposition  of  all  the  benefices  and  offices,  lands, 
revenues  and  fruits  of  the  said  realms  and  dominions,  and  that 
they  shall  be  bestowed  upon  such  as  shall  be  naturally  born  in  the 
same ;  and  that  all  the  matters  of  the  said  realms  and  dominions 
shall  be  treated  and  maintained  in  the  same  tongues  wherein  oi 
old  they  have  been  wont  to  be  treated,  and  by  the  natural 
born  of  the  same  realms  :  it  is  also  covenanted  that  the  same 
most  noble  queen,  by  virtue  of  the  aforesaid  matrimony,  shall  be 
admitted  into  the  society  of  the  realms  and  dominions  of  the  said 
most  noble  prince,  as  well  such  as  he  hath  now  presently,  as  such 
other  also  as  during  the  same  matrimony  may  come  hereafter  unto 
him  ;  and  for  her  dower,  in  case  that  her  Highness  overlive  the 
said  most  noble  prince  her  husband,  she  shall  yearly  receive  three 
score  thousand  pounds,  after  the  value  of  forty  groats,  Flemish 
money,  to  the  pound  ;  the  same  to  be  allotted  and  appointed  upon 
all  the  realms,  lands  and  patrimonial  dominions,  of  the  said  most 
victorious  lord,  the  emperor,  his  father,  *  *  *  And  lest  that  among 
their  children  there  might  arise  some  strife  for  the  succession, 
and  thereby  disturb  the  fruit  of  perpetual  concord  that  is  hoped 
shall  ensue  of  this  matrimony  between  the  realms  and  dominions 
of  either  party,  the  said  succession  shall  be  ordered  in  manner 
and  form  following :  first,  that  as  touching  the  right  of  the 
mother's  inheritance  in  the  realm  of  England,  and  the  other 
realms  and  dominions  depending  of  the  same,  the  children  as 
well  males  as  females  that  shall  be  born  of  this  matrimony  shall 
succeed  in  them,  according  to  the  laws,  statutes  and  customs  of 


Act  for  the  Marriage  of  Queen  Mary      285 

the  same :  and  as  touching  the  lands  that  the  said  most  noble 
prince  shall  leave  behind  him ;  first,  there  shall  be  reserved  unto 
his  eldest  son  the  lord  Charles  of  Austria,  Infante  of  Spain,  and 
to  the  children  and  heirs  of  him  descending,  as  well  females  as 
males,  all  and  singular  their  rights  which  to  the  said  prince  do 
either  now  or  hereafter  shall  belong,  and  shall  at  any  time  by  the 
death  either  of  the  noble  queen  his  grandame,  or  the  most  vic- 
torious emperor  Charles  the  Fifth  his  father,  (which  God  long 
defer),  be  devolved  unto  him  in  the  realms  of  Spain,  of  both  the 
Sicilies,  with  all  their  appurtenances,  in  the  dukedom  of  Milan, 
and  other  lands  and  dominions  in  Lombardy  and  Italy,  whatso- 
ever name  and  title  they  have,  which  nevertheless  shall  be  bur- 
dened and  charged  with  the  aforesaid  dower  of  sixty  thousand 
pounds ;  in  which  realms,  lands  and  dominions  the  children  of 
this  present  matrimony  shall  pretend  nothing  so  long  as  the  said 
lord  Charles  the  Infante,  or  any  issue  of  his  body  lawfully  begot- 
ten, do  live  :  but  if  it  fortune  the  same  lord  Charles  to  die,  and 
the  issue  of  his  body  to  fail,  then  and  in  that  case  the  eldest 
son  of  this  matrimony  shall  be  admitted  into  the  said  right,  and 
according  to  the  nature,  laws,  and  customs  of  the  said  realms  and 
dominions  shall  succeed  :  the  same  eldest  son  shall  also  succeed 
in  all  the  dukedoms,  earldoms,  dominions  and  patrimonial  lands 
belonging  unto  the  said  lord  the  emperor,  as  well  in  Burgundy  as 
in  the  lower  Germany  *  *  *  Provided  nevertheless  and  ex- 
pressly reserved  in  all  and  singular  the  above  declared  cases  of 
succession,  that  whatsoever  he  or  she  be  that  shall  succeed  to 
them,  they  shall  leave  to  every  of  the  said  realms,  lands  and  do- 
minions whole  and  entire  their  privileges,  rights  and  customs, 
and  the  same  realms  and  dominions  shall  administer  and  cause  to 
be  administered  by  the  natural  born  of  the  same  realms,  domin- 
ions and  lands,  and  in  all  things  faithfully  procure  their  utility 
and  quiet,  and  shall  rule  and  nourish  them  in  good  justice  and 
peace,  according  to  their  statutes  and  customs :  finally,  that  be- 
tween the  said  emperor,  the  prince  and  his  successors,  their 
realms  and  dominions  whatsoever,  and  the  said  most  gracious 
queen  and  her  realms  and  dominions,  there  shall  be  from  hence- 
forth an  entire  and  sincere  fraternity,  unity  and  most  strait 
confederacy,  forever  (God  willing)  happily  to  endure,  so  as  they 
shall  mutually  one  of  them  aid  another  in  all  things  which  to 
themselves  and  their  honour,  and  to  the  conservation  of  their 
heirs  and  successors  shall  be  most  agreeable,  according  to  the 
strength,  form  and  effect  of  the  latter  treaty  of  a  strait  amity, 
bearing  date  at  Westminster  the  year  of  our  Lord  God  one 


286          English  Constitutional  Documents 

thousand  five  hundred  forty  and  two,  the  declaration  of  which 
treaty  beareth-  date  at  Utrecht  the  sixteenth  day  of  January  in  the 
year  of  our  Lord  God  one  thousand  five  hundred  forty  and  six. 

And  in  one  other  treaty  these  articles  following  :  first,  that  the 
said  most  noble  prince  shall  not  promote,  admit  or  receive  to  any 
office,  administration  or  benefice  in  the  said  realm  of  England,  and 
the  dominions  thereunto  belonging,  any  stranger  or  person  not 
born  under  the  dominion  and  subjection  of  the  said  most  noble 
queen  of  England  :  that  the  said  most  noble  prince  shall  receive 
and  admit  into  the  service  of  his  household  and  court  gentlemen 
and  yeomen  of  the  same  realm  of  England  in  a  convenient 
number,  and  shall  esteem,  entertain  and  nourish  them  as  his 
proper  subjects,  and  shall  bring  none  in  his  retinue,  nor  have  none 
with  him  that  will  do  any  displeasure  or  wrong  to  the  subjects  of 
the  said  realm  ;  and  if  they  do,  he  shall  take  order  to  correct 
them  with  condign  punishment  and  see  them  expelled  his  court : 
that  the  said  most  noble  prince  shall  do  nothing  whereby  any- 
thing be  innovated  in  the  state  and  right,  either  public  or  private, 
or  in  the  laws  and  customs  of  the  said  realm  of  England  or  the 
dominions  thereunto  belonging ;  but  shall  contrary  wise,  confirm 
and  keep  to  all  estates  and  orders  their  rights  and  privileges :  that 
the  said  lord  prince  shall  not  lead  away  the  aforesaid  most  noble 
lady  the  queen,  out  of  the  borders  of  her  Highness'  realm,  unless 
she  herself  desire  it,  nor  carry  the  children  that  shall  be  born  of 
this  matrimony  out  of  the  same  realm  of  England,  but,  to  the  hope 
of  succession  to  come,  shall  there  suffer  them  to  be  nourished  and 
brought  up,  unless  it  shall  be  otherwise  thought  good  by  the  con- 
sent and  agreement  of  the  nobility  of  England ;  and  in  case  that 
no  children  being  left,  the  said  most  noble  queen  do  die  before 
him,  the  said  lord  prince  shall  not  challenge  any  right  at  all  in  the 
said  kingdom,  but  without  any  impediment  shall  permit  the  suc- 
cession thereof  to  come  unto  them  to  whom  it  shall  belong  and 
appertain  by  the  right  and  laws  of  the  said  realm  :  item,  that  the 
said  most  noble  prince  shall  not  bear  or  carry  over  out  of  the 
aforesaid  realm,  the  jewels  and  precious  things  of  estimation, 
neither  shall  he  alienate  or  do  away  any  whit  of  the  appurtenances 
of  the  said  realm  of  England,  or  suffer  any  part  of  them  to  be 
usurped  by  his  subjects  or  any  other ;  but  shall  see  that  all  and 
singular  places  of  the  realm,  and  specially  the  forts  and  frontiers 
of  the  same,  be  faithfully  kept  and  preserved  to  the  use  and  profit 
of  the  said  realm  and  by  the  natural  born  of  the  same ;  he  shall 
not  suffer  any  ship,  guns,  ordnances  whatsoever  of  war  or  defence 
to  be  removed  or  conveyed  out  of  the  said  realm,  but  shall  con- 


Act  for  the  Marriage  of  Queen  Mary      287 

nary  wise  cause  them  diligently  to  be  kept  and  renewed  when 
need  requireth,  and  shall  so  provide  that  the  same  may  always  be 
ready  in  their  strength  and  force  for  the  defence  of  the  realm : 
item,  that  the  realm  of  England,  by  occasion  of -this  matrimony, 
shall  not  directly  or  indirectly  be  entangled  with  the  war  that  is 
between  the  most  victorious  lord  the  emperor,  father  unto  the 
said  lord  prince,  and  Henry,  the  French  king,  but  he  the  said 
lord  Philip,  as  much  as  shall  lie  in  him,  on  the  behalf  of  the  said 
realm  of  England,  shall  see  the  peace  between  the  said  realms  of 
France  and  England  observed,  and  shall  give  no  cause  of  any 
breach ;  *  *  *  so  it  may  also  please  your  Majesty  for  the  more 
perfect  corroboration  and  strength  of  the  said  articles,  grants, 
pacts  and  agreements,  and  to  the  intent  that  the  same  may  be 
the  more  inviolably  observed  and  kept,  that  it  may  be  enacted  by 
the  authority  of  this  present  parliament,  that  all  and  singular  the 
said  articles,  covenants,  grants,  pacts,  treaties  and  agreements, 
had,  made  and  concluded  for  and  concerning  the  said  marriage 
between  your  Highness  and  the  said  prince  of  Spain,  and  all  and 
singular  the  dependances  thereof  before  rehearsed,  shall  imme- 
diately after  the  said  marriage  had  and  solemnized,  stand,  remain 
and  abide  in  perfect  force  and  efficacy,  according  to  the  effect, 
sense  and  true  meaning  of  the  said  treaty. 

II.  And  where  among  other  the  articles  above  remembered,  it 
is  agreed,  that  the  said  most  noble  prince  shall,  during  the  said 
marriage,  have  and  enjoy  jointly  together  with  your  Majesty,  the 
style,  honour  and  kingly  name  of  the  said  realms  and  dominions  to 
your  Highness  appertaining,  and  shall  also  aid  your  Highness 
being  his  wife  in  the  happy  administration  of  your  realms  and 
dominions,  the  rights,  laws,  privileges  and  customs  of  the  said 
realms  and  dominions  being  nevertheless  reserved  and  maintained  ; 
and  where  also  it  is  provided,  covenanted  and  agreed  among 
other  the  said  articles  in  the  said  treaty  by  and  on  the  behalf  of 
the  said  most  noble  prince,  that  the  said  most  noble  prince  shall 
permit  and  suffer  your  most  excellent  Majesty  to  have  the  whole 
disposition  of  all  the  benefices  and  offices,  lands,  revenues,  and 
fruits  of  the  said  realms  and  dominions,  and  that  the  said  most 
noble  prince  shall  not  do  anything  whereby  the  estate  and  right, 
either  public  or  private,  or  the  laws  and  customs  of  the  said  realm 
of  England,  or  the  dominions  thereunto  belonging  be  innovated : 
for  the  more  express  explanation  and  declaration  of  the  premises, 
we  your  faithful,  loving  and  obedient  subjects,  do  most  humbly 
beseech  your  Highness  that  it  may  be  provided,  enacted  and 
established  by  the  authority  of  this  present  parliament,  that  your 


288  English  Constitutional   Documents 

Majesty  as  our  only  queen,  shall  and  may  solely  and  as  a  sole 
queen,  use,  have  and  enjoy  the  crown  and  sovereignty  of  and 
over  your  realms,  dominions  and  subjects,  with  all  the  preemi- 
nences, prerogatives,  dignities,  authorities,  jurisdictions,  honours, 
castles,  manors,  lands,  tenements  and  hereditaments  belonging 
to  the  same,  in  such  sole  and  only  estate  and  in  as  large  and  ample 
manner  and  form  in  all  degrees,  acts,  exercises  and  conditions, 
from  and  after  the  solemnization  of  the  said  marriage,  and  at  all 
times  during  the  same,  which  God  grant  long  to  continue  and 
endure,  as  your  Highness  now  hath,  useth,  exerciseth  and  enjoyeth 
the  same,  and  as  your  Grace  hath  had,  used,  exercised  and 
enjoyed,  or  might  have  had,  used  or  enjoyed  the  same  before  the 
solemnization  of  the  said  marriage  ;  without  any  right,  title,  estate, 
claim  or  demand  to  be  given,  come  or  grow  unto  the  said  most 
noble  prince  as  tenant  by  the  courtesy  of  this  realm,  or  in  or  by 
any  other  means  by  force  of  the  said  marriage,  of,  in  and  to  your 
said  imperial  crown,  sovereignty,  realms,  dominions,  subjects,  pre- 
eminences, prerogatives,  dignities,  authorities,  jurisdictions,  honours, 
castles,  manors,  lands,  tenements  and  hereditaments  belonging  to 
the  same,  by  any  laws,  usage  or  custom  whatsoever ;  the  said  mar- 
riage or  any  statute,  custom,  prescription  or  other  thing  to  the 
contrary  in  any  wise  notwithstanding. 

III.  And  yet  nevertheless  that  it  may  be  enacted,  ordained  and 
established  by  the  authority  of  this  present  parliament,  that  all 
and  singular  gifts,  grants,  letters  patents,  exchanges,  confirmations, 
leases  and  other  writings,  which  after  the  said  marriage  and  dur- 
ing the  same  shall  pass  and  be  made  of  the  said  benefices,  offices, 
lands,  revenues  and  fruits  or  any  of  them,  shall  be  entitled,  set 
forth  and  made  in  the  names  of  the  said  most  noble  prince  and 
of  your   most   excellent   Majesty,  whether  the  said   most  noble 
prince  shall  be  present  within  the  said  realms  and  dominions  or 
within  any  of  them,  or  absent :  and  the  same  gifts,  grants,  letters 
patents,  exchanges,  confirmations,  leases  and  other  writings,  so  set 
forth  and  made,  shall  be  signed  and  firmed  with  the  sign  manual 
of  your  Highness ;  and  the  same  so  signed,  and  sealed  with  the 
great  seal  of  this  realm,  or  with  such  seal  as  hath  been  accustomed, 
shall  be  by  authority  of  this  present  parliament  deemed,  adjudged, 
declared  and  pronounced  to  be  as  good,  perfect  and  of  like  force, 
strength  and  effect  in  the  law,  to  all  intents,  constructions  and  pur- 
poses, against  the  said  most  noble  prince,  and  against  your  High- 
ness your  heirs  and  successors,  as  if  your  excellent  Majesty  had 
been  at  the  time  of  the  making  thereof  sole  and  unmarried.  *  *  * 

IV.  And  that  it  may  be  also  further  enacted,  ordained  and 


Revival  of  the  Heresy  Acts  289 

established  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  that  all  commissions, 
instructions,  pardons,  writs  of  summons,  prorogations  or  dissolu- 
tions of  parliaments,  royal  assents,  adjournments  of  terms,  original 
writs  and  other  process,  instruments,  licenses,  judicial  acts  and  all 
manner  writings,  other  than  the  said  gifts,  grants,  letters  patents, 
exchanges,  confirmations,  leases  and  other  writings  concerning  or 
in  any  wise  touching  the  said  benefices,  offices,  lands,  revenues 
and  fruits  or  any  of  them,  after  the  said  marriage,  and  during  the 
time  of  the  same,  whether  the  said  most  noble  prince  shall  be 
present  within  the  said  realms  and  dominions,  or  within  any  of 
them,  or  absent,  after  the  signing  by  your  Majesty  of  the  warrants 
or  writings  of  them  heretofore  used  to  be  signed,  shall  pass,  be  set 
forth  and  made  from  time  to  time  in  the  names  of  the  said  most 
noble  prince,  and  your  most  excellent  Highness,  by  such  officers 
and  ministers  and  in  such  manner,  form  and  order  as  hath  been 
used  and  accustomed  to  pass,  be  set  forth  and  made  in  the  time 
or  times  of  your  Grace's  most  noble  progenitors  or  any  of  them ; 
and  shall  be  by  the  authority  of  this  present  parliament,  of  the  same 
and  like  force,  strength  and  effect  in  the  law  to  all  intents,  con- 
structions and  purposes,  as  if  your  most  excellent  Majesty  were 
then  sole  and  not  married  :  the  said  marriage  or  any  law,  usage  or 
custom  to  the  contrary  in  any  wise  notwithstanding. 


165.    Revival  of  the  Heresy  Acts 

(1554.     i  &  2  Philip  and  Mary,  c.  6.    4  S.  R.  244.    G.  and  H.  384.) 

"C*OR  the  eschewing  and  avoiding  of  errors  and  heresies,  which 
A  of  late  have  risen,  grown,  and  much  increased  within  this 
realm,  for  that  the  ordinaries  have  wanted  authority  to  proceed 
against  those  that  were  infected  therewith  :  be  it  therefore  ordained 
and  enacted  by  authority  of  this  present  Parliament,  that  the  stat- 
ute made  in  the  fifth  year  of  the  reign  of  King  Richard  II.,  con- 
cerning the  arresting  and  apprehension  of  erroneous  and  heretical 
preachers,  and  one  other  statute  made  in  the  second  year  of  the 
reign  of  King  Henry  IV.,  concerning  the  repressing  of  heresies 
and  punishment  of  heretics,  and  also  one  other  statute  made  in 
the  second  year  of  the  reign  of  King  Henry  V.,  concerning  the 
suppression  of  heresy  and  Lollardy,  and  every  article,  branch,  and 
sentence  contained  in  the  same  three  several  Acts,  and  every  of 


290  English  Constitutional  Documents 

them,  shall  from  the  twentieth  day  of  January  next  coming  be 
revived,  and  be  in  full  force,  strength,  and  effect  to  all  intents, 
constructions,  and  purposes  for  ever. 


1 66.    Second  Act  of  Repeal  of  Mary 

(1554.    I  &  2  Philip  and  Mary,  c.  8.    4  5.  R.  246.    The  whole  act  reprinted  in 
G.  and  H.  385-415-) 

WHEREAS  since  the  twentieth  year  of  King  Henry  VIII.  of 
famous  memory,  father  unto  your  majesty  our  most  natural 
sovereign  and  gracious  lady  and  queen,  much  false  and  erroneous 
doctrine  has  been  taught,  preached,  and  written,  partly  by  divers 
the  natural-born  subjects  of  this  realm,  and  partly  being  brought 
in  hither  from  sundry  other  foreign  countries,  has  been  sown  and 
spread  abroad  within  the  same  : 

By  reason  whereof,  as  well  the  spiritualty  as  the  temporalty 
of  your  highness's  realms  and  dominions  have  swerved  from  the 
obedience  of  the  See  Apostolic,  and  declined  from  the  unity  of 
Christ's  Church,  and  so  have  continued,  until  such  time  as  your 
majesty  being  first  raised  up  by  God,  and  set  in  the  seat  royal 
over  us,  and  then  by  His  divine  and  gracious  providence  knit  in 
marriage  with  the  most  noble  and  virtuous  prince  the  king  our 
sovereign  lord  your  husband,  the  pope's  holiness  and  the  See 
Apostolic  sent  hither  unto  your  majesties  (as  unto  persons  unde- 
nted, and  by  God's  goodness  preserved  from  the  common  infec- 
tion aforesaid)  and  to  the  whole  realm,  the  most  reverend  father 
in  God,  the  lord  Cardinal  Pole,  legate  de  Latere,  to  call  us  home 
again  into  the  right  way  from  whence  we  have  all  this  long  while 
wandered  and  strayed  abroad; 

And  we,  after  sundry  long  and  grievous  plagues  and  calamities, 
seeing  by  the  goodness  of  God  our  own  errors,  have  acknowl- 
edged the  same  unto  the  said  most  reverend  father,  and  by 
him  have  been  and  are  the  rather  at  the  contemplation  of  your 
majesties  received  and  embraced  into  the  unity  and  bosom  of 
Christ's  Church,  and  upon  our  humble  submission  and  promise 
made  for  a  declaration  of  our  repentance,  to  repeal  and  abrogate 
such  Acts  and  statutes  as  had  been  made  in  Parliament  since  the 
said  twentieth  year  of  the  said  King  Henry  VIII.,  against  the 
supremacy  of  the  See  Apostolic,  as  in  our  submission  exhibited  to 


Second  Act  of  Repeal  of  Mary  291 

the  said  most  reverend  father  in  God  by  your  majesties  appears  : 
the  tenor  whereof  ensues  : 

II.  We  the  Lords  spiritual  and  temporal,  and  the  Commons, 
assembled  in  this  present  Parliament,  representing  the  whole 
body  of  the  realm  of  England,  and  the  dominions  of  the  same,  in 
the  name  of  ourselves  particularly,  and  also  of  the  said  body 
universally,  in  this  our  supplication  directed  to  your  majesties,  with 
most  humble  suit,  that  it  may  by  your  grace's  intercession  and 
mean  be  exhibited  to  the  most  reverend  father  in  God,  the  lord 
Cardinal  Pole,  legate,  sent  specially  hither  from  our  most  holy 
father  the  Pope  Julius  III  and  the  See  Apostolic  of  Rome,  do 
declare  ourselves  very  sorry  and  repentant  of  the  schism  and  dis- 
obedience committed  in  this  realm  and  dominions  aforesaid 
against  the  said  See  Apostolic,  either  by  making,  agreeing,  or  exe- 
cuting any  laws,  ordinances,  or  commandments  against  the  suprem- 
acy of  the  said  see,  or  otherwise  doing  or  speaking,  that  might 
impugn  the  same  :  offering  ourselves,  and  promising  by  this  our 
supplication,  that  for  a  token  and  knowledge  of  our  said  repent- 
ance we  be  and  shall  be  always  ready,  under  and  with  the 
authorities  of  your  majesties,  to  the  uttermost  of  our  powers,  to  do 
that  shall  lie  in  us  for  the  abrogation  and  repealing  of  the  said  laws 
and  ordinances  in  this  present  Parliament,  as  well  for  ourselves 
as  for  the  whole  body  whom  we  represent :  whereupon  we  most 
humbly  desire  your  majesties,  as  personages  undefiled  in  the 
offence  of  this  body  towards  the  said  see,  which  nevertheless  God 
by  His  providence  has  made  subject  to  you,  to  set  forth  this  our 
most  humble  suit,  that  we  may  obtain  from  the  See  Apostolic,  by 
the  said  most  reverend  father,  as  well  particularly  and  generally, 
absolution,  release,  and  discharge  from  all  danger  of  such  cen- 
sures and  sentences,  as  by  the  laws  of  the  Church  we  be  fallen 
into ;  and  that  we  may  as  children  repentant  be  received  into  the 
bosom  and  unity  of  Christ's  Church,  so  as  this  noble  realm,  with 
all  the  members  thereof,  may  in  this  unity  and  perfect  obedience 
to  the  See  Apostolic  and  popes  for  the  time  being,  serve  God  and 
your  majesties,  to  the  furtherance  and  advancement  of  His  honour 
and  glory.  We  are  at  the  intercession  of  your  majesties,  by  the 
authority  of  our  holy  father  Pope  Julius  III  and  of  the  See  Apos- 
tolic, assoiled,  discharged,  and  delivered  from  excommunications, 
interdictions,  and  other  censures  ecclesiastical,  which  have  hanged 
over  our  heads  for  our  said  defaults  since  the  time  of  the  said 
schism  mentioned  in  our  supplication :  it  may  now  like  your 
rmjesties,  that  for  the  accomplishment  of  our  promise  made  in  the 
said  supplication,  that  is,  to  repeal  all  laws  and  statutes  made  con- 


292  English  Constitutional  Documents 

trary  to  the  said  supremacy  and  See  Apostolic,  during  the  said 
schism,  the  which  is  to  be  understood  since  the  twentieth  year  of 
the  reign  of  the  said  late  King  Henry  VIII,  and  so  the  said  lord 
legate  does  accept  and  recognize  the  same. 


XXV.  And  where  we  your  most  humble  subjects,  the  Lords 
spiritual  and  temporal,  and  Commons,  in  this  present  Parliament 
assembled,  have  exhibited  to  your  majesties  one  other  supplica- 
tion in  form  following :  We  the  Lords  spiritual  and  temporal,  and 
the  Commons,  in  this  present  Parliament  assembled,  representing 
the  whole  body  of  this  realm,  reduced  and  received  by  your  majes- 
ties' intercession  to  the  unity  of  Christ's  Church,  and  the  obedience 
of  the  See  Apostolic  of  Rome,  and  the  pope's  holiness  governing 
the  same,  make  most  humble  suit  unto  your  majesties  to  be  like- 
wise means   and  intercessors,  that   all   occasions   of  contention, 
hatred,  grudge,  suspicion,  and   trouble,  both  outwardly  and  in- 
wardly in  men's  consciences,  which  might  arise  amongst  us  by 
reason  of  disobedience,  may  by  authority  of  the  pope's  holiness, 
and  by  ministration  of  the  same  unto  us  by  the  most  reverend 
father  in  God  the  lord  Cardinal  Pole,  by  dispensation,  toleration, 
or  permission  respectively,  as  the  case  shall  require,  be  abolished 
and  taken  away,  and  by  authority  sufficient  these  articles  follow- 
ing, and  generally  all  others,  when  occasion  shall  so  require,  may 
be  provided  for  and  confirmed  : 

XXVI.  First,  that  all  bishoprics,  cathedral  churches,  hospitals, 
colleges,  schools,  and   other   such   foundations   now   continuing, 
made  by  authority  of  Parliament,  or  otherwise  established  accord- 
ing to  the  order  of  the  laws  of  this  realm,  since  the  schism,  may 
be  confirmed  and  continued  for  ever. 

XXVII.  Item,  that  marriages   made   infra  gradus  prohibitos 
consanguinitatis,  affinitatis,  cognationis  spiritualis ,  or  which  might 
be  made  void  propter  impedimentum  publics  honestatis,  justitice, 
or  for  any  other  cause  prohibited  by  the  canons  only,  may  be 
confirmed,  and  children  born  of  those  marriages  declared  legiti- 
mate, so  as  those  marriages  were  made  according  to  the  laws  of 
the  realm  for  the  time  being,  and  be  not  directly  against  the  laws 
of  God,  nor  in  such  case  as  the  See  Apostolic  has  not  used  to 
dispense  withal. 

XXVIII.  That  institutions  of  benefices,  and  other  promotions 
ecclesiastical,  and  dispensations  made  according  to  the  form  of 
the  Act  of  Parliament,  may  be  likewise  confirmed. 

XXIX.  That  all  judicial  processes  made  before  any  ordinaries  of 


Second  Act  of  Repeal  of  Mary  193 

this  realm,  or  before  any  delegates  upon  any  appeals,  according 
to  the  order  of  the  laws  of  the  realm,  may  be  likewise  ratified  and 
confirmed. 

XXX.  And  finally,  where  certain  Acts  and  statutes  have  been 
made  in  the  time  of  the  late  schism,  concerning  the  lands  and 
hereditaments  of  archbishoprics  and  bishoprics,  the  suppression 
and  dissolution  of  monasteries,  abbeys,  priories,  chantries,  col- 
leges, and  all  other  the  goods  and  chattels  of  religious  houses ; 
since  the  which  time  the  right  and  dominion  of  certain  lands 
and  hereditaments,  goods,  and  chattels,  belonging  to  the  same, 
be  dispersed  abroad,  and  come  to  the  hands  and  possessions  of 
divers  and  sundry  persons,  who  by  gift,  purchase,  exchange,  and 
other  means,  according  to  the  order  of  the  laws  and  statutes  of 
this  realm  for  the  time  being,  have  the  same  :  for  the  avoiding  all 
scruples  that  might  grow  by  any  the  occasions  aforesaid,  or  by  any 
other  ways  or  means  whatsoever,  it  may  please  your  majesties  to 
be  intercessors  and  mediators  to  the  said  most  reverend  father 
Cardinal  Pole,  that  all  such  causes  and  quarrels,  as  by  pretence 
of  the  said  schism,  or  by  any  other  occasion  or  mean  whatsoever, 
might  be  moved  by  the  pope's  holiness  or  See  Apostolic,  or  by 
any  other  jurisdiction  ecclesiastical,  may  be  utterly  removed  and 
taken  away ;  so  as  all  persons  having  sufficient  conveyance  of  the 
said  lands  and  hereditaments,  goods,  and  chattels  as  is  aforesaid, 
by  the  common  laws,  acts,  or  statutes  of  this  realm,  may,  without 
scruple  of  conscience,  enjoy  them  without  impeachment  or 
trouble  by  pretence  of  any  general  council,  canons,  or  ecclesias- 
tical laws,  and  clear  from  all  dangers  of  the  censures  of  the 
Church. 


XXXIII.  And  therefore  be  it  enacted  by  the  authority  of  this 
present  Parliament,  that  all  and  singular  articles  and  clauses  con- 
tained in  the  said  dispensation,  as  well  touching  the  establishment 
of  bishoprics  and  cathedral  churches,  as  also  the  confirmation 
of  marriages  in  degrees  prohibited  by  the  canons  of  the  Church, 
the  legitimation  of  children,  and  the  ratification  of  processes,  and 
of  sentences  in  matters  ecclesiastical,  touching  the  invalidity  of 
them  for  want  of  jurisdiction,  and  the  institutions  and  destitutions 
of  and  in  benefices  and  promotions  ecclesiastical,  dispensations 
and  graces  given  by  such  order  as  the  public  laws  of  the  realm 
then  approved,  and  all  other  things  before  contained  in  the  said 
letters  of  dispensation,  shall  remain  and  be  reputed  and  taken  to 
all  intents  and  constructions  in  the  laws  of  this  realm,  lawful,  good, 


294  English  Constitutional   Documents 

and  effectual,  to  be  alleged  and  pleaded  in  all  courts  ecclesias- 
tical and  temporal,  for  good  and  sufficient  matter,  either  for  the 
plaintiff  or  defendant,  without  any  allegation  or  objection  to  be 
made  against  the  validity  of  them,  by  pretence  of  any  general 
council,  canon,  or  decree  to  the  contrary  made,  or  to  be  made, 
in  that  behalf. 

XXXIV.  And   whereas   divers   and    sundry  late   monasteries, 
priories,  commanderies,  nunneries,  deaneries,  prebends,  colleges, 
hospitals,    houses    of  friars,    chantries,   and   other   religious  and 
ecclesiastical  houses  and  places,  and  the  manors,  granges,  mes- 
suages, lands,  tenements,  rectories,  tithes,  pensions,  portions,  vic- 
arages, churches,   chapels,  advowsons,  nominations,    patronages, 
annuities,   rents,  reversions,   services,  and  other  possessions  and 
hereditaments   to  the 'said  late  monasteries,  priories,  nunneries, 
commanderies,    deaneries,  chantries,  prebends,  houses  of  friars, 
colleges,  hospitals,  and   other  religious  and  ecclesiastical  houses 
and  places,  and  to  sundry  archbishoprics  and  bishoprics,  within 
this  realm,  late  appertaining  and  belonging,  came  as  well  to  the 
hands  and  possession  of  the  said  king  of  famous  memory,  Henry 
VIII,  father  unto  your  majesty,  our  said  sovereign  lady,  by  disso- 
lution, gift,  grant,  surrender,  attainder,  or  otherwise,  as  also  to  the 
hands   and   possession  of  divers  and  sundry  other  persons  and 
bodies  politic  and  corporate,  by  sundry  means,  conveyances,  and 
assurances,  according  to  the  order  of  the  laws  and  statutes  of  this 
realm. 

XXXV.  And  where  also  divers  manors,  lands,  tenements,  and 
hereditaments,  parcel   of  the   possession  of  archbishoprics   and 
bishoprics,  and  many  and  sundry  late  deaneries,  colleges,  chan- 
tries,   rectories,    prebends,    free   chapels,  guilds  and  fraternities, 
manors,    houses,    granges,  lands,  tenements,  rents,  services,  and 
other   ecclesiastical    possessions   and   hereditaments,  goods    and 
chattels,   to   the  said  archbishoprics,   bishoprics,   deaneries,  col- 
leges,  chantries,  free  chapels,  rectories,  guilds,  and  fraternities, 
late  appertaining  and  belonging,  or  appointed  to  and  for  the  find- 
ing of  priests,  obits,  lights,  or  other  like  purpose,  came  as  well  to 
the    hands   and  possession   of  the  late  noble  king,  Edward  VI, 
brother  unto  your  majesty  [our]  sovereign  lady,  by  virtue  of  an 
Act  of  Parliament  thereof  made,  or  otherwise,  as  also  to  the  hands 
and   possession    of  divers  and  sundry  other  persons  and  bodies 
politic  and  corporate,  by  sundry  means,  conveyances,  and  assur- 
ances, according  to  the  order  of  the  laws  of  this  realm  ;  a  great 
number  of  which  said  late  monasteries,  priories,  nunneries,  com- 
manderies,   deaneries,    colleges,   hospitals,   prebends,   chantries, 


Second  Act  of  Repeal  of  Mary  295 

free  chapels,  guilds,  and  fraternities,  and  the  manors,  granges, 
messuages,  lands,  tenements,  rents,  reversions,  services,  tithes, 
pensions,  portions,  vicarages,  churches,  chapels,  advowsons,  nom- 
inations, patronages,  annuities  and  hereditaments,  goods  and 
chattels,  to  the  said  monasteries,  priories,  nunneries,  command- 
cries,  deaneries,  colleges,  hospitals,  chantries,  free  chapels,  guilds, 
fraternities,  and  other  ecclesiastical  houses,  archbishoprics,  and 
bishoprics  belonging,  as  well  for  great  sums  of  money,  as  for  other 
good  and  reasonable  causes  and  considerations,  have  been  con- 
veyed and  assured  to  divers  the  subjects  and  bodies  politic  of  this 
realm,  as  well  by  the  said  King  Henry  VIII,  the  said  King 
Edward  VT,  and  by  your  highness  our  sovereign  lady,  and  jointly 
by  both  your  majesties,  as  also  by  divers  the  owners  of  the  said 
ecclesiastical  possessions ;  which  said  conveyances  and  assurances, 
by  their  sundry  letters  patent,  and  other  writings  more  plainly 
do  and  may  appear  : 

Forasmuch  as  the  said  most  reverend  father  has  also  by  the  said 
dispensations  removed  and  taken  away  all  matter  of  impeachment, 
trouble,  and  danger,  which  by  occasion  of  any  general  council, 
canon,  or  decree  ecclesiastical,  might  touch  and  disquiet  the  pos- 
sessions of  such  goods  moveable,  lands,  tenements,  possessions, 
and  hereditaments  as  were  of  late  belonging  to  any  of  the  said 
archbishoprics,  bishoprics,  monasteries,  priories,  nunneries,  com- 
manderies,  deaneries,  colleges,  chantries,  prebends,  rectories,  hos- 
pitals, houses  of  friars,  or  other  religious  and  ecclesiastical  houses 
and  places,  of  what  nature,  name,  kind,  or  quality  soever  they  be 
of;  yet  for  that  the  title  of  all  lands,  possessions,  and  heredita- 
ments, in  this  your  majesties'  realm  and  dominions,  is  grounded 
in  the  laws,  statutes,  and  customs  of  the  same,  and  by  your  high 
jurisdiction,  authority  royal,  and  crown  imperial,  and  in  your 
courts  only,  to  be  impleaded,  ordered,  tried,  and  judged,  and  none 
otherwise  ;  and  understanding  that  the  whole,  full,  and  most  gra- 
cious intents,  mind,  and  determination  of  your  most  excellent 
majesties  be,  that  all  and  every  person  and  persons,  bodies  politic 
and  corporate,  their  heirs,  successors,  and  assigns,  and  every  of 
them,  shall  have,  keep,  retain,  and  enjoy  all  and  every  their  estates, 
rights,  possessions,  and  interests  that  they,  and  every  of  them,  now 
have,  or  hereafter  shall  have,  of  and  in  all  and  every  the  manors, 
granges,  messuages,  lands,  tenements,  tithes,  pensions,  portions, 
advowsons,  nominations,  patronages,  annuities,  rents,  reversions, 
services,  hundreds,  wapentakes,  liberties,  franchises,  and  other  the 
possessions  and  hereditaments  of  the  said  monasteries,  abbeys, 
priories,  nunneries,  commanderies,  deaneries,  colleges,  prebends, 


296  English  Constitutional   Documents 

houses  of  friars,  hospitals,  chantries,  rectories,  vicarages,  churches, 
chapels,  archbishoprics,  bishoprics,  and  other  religious  or  ecclesias- 
tical houses  or  places,  or  of  any  of  them,  within  this  realm  or  the 
dominions  of  the  same,  by  such  laws  and  statutes  as  were  in  force 
before  the  first  day  of  this  present  Parliament,  and  by  other  lawful 
conveyances  to  them  thereof  made  : 

XXXVI.  That  it  may  be  enacted  *  *  * 


167.  The  Act  of  Supremacy 

(1559.     I  Elizabeth,  c.  I.    4  S.  J?.  350.    The  whole  act  reprinted  in  G.  and 
H.  442-458-) 

MOST  humbly  beseech  your  most  excellent  majesty,  your  faith- 
ful and  obedient  subjects,  the  Lords  spiritual  and  temporal, 
and  the  Commons,  in  this  your  present  Parliament  assembled,  that 
where  in  time  of  the  reign  of  your  most  dear  father,  of  worthy 
memory,  King  Henry  VIII,  divers  good  laws  and  statutes  were 
made  and  established,  as  well  for  the  utter  extinguishment  and 
putting  away  of  all  usurped  and  foreign  powers  and  authorities  out 
of  this  your  realm,  and  other  your  highness's  dominions  and  coun- 
tries, as  also  for  the  restoring  and  uniting  to  the  imperial  crown 
of  this  realm  the  ancient  jurisdictions,  authorities,  superiorities,  and 
pre-eminences  to  the  same  of  right  belonging  and  appertaining,  by 
reason  whereof  we,  your  most  humble  and  obedient  subjects,  from 
the  five-and-twentieth  year  of  the  reign  of  your  said  dear  father, 
were  continually  kept  in  good  order,  and  were  disburdened  of 
divers  great  and  intolerable  charges  and  exactions  before  that 
time  unlawfully  taken  and  exacted  by  such  foreign  power  and 
authority  as  before  that  was  usurped,  until  such  time  as  all  the  said 
good  laws  and  statutes,  by  one  Act  of  Parliament  made  in  the  first 
and  second  years  of  the  reigns  of  the  late  King  Philip  and  Queen 
Mary,  your  highness's  sister,  entitled,  An  Act  repealing  all  statutes, 
articles,  and  provisions  made  against  the  See  Apostolic  of  Rome 
since  the  twentieth  year  of  King  Henry  VIII,  and  also  for  the 
establishment  of  all  spiritual  and  ecclesiastical  possessions  and 
hereditaments  conveyed  to  the  laity,  were  all  clearly  repealed  and 
made  void,  as  by  the  same  Act  of  repeal  more  at  large  does 
and  may  appear;  by  reason  of  which  Act  of  repeal,  your  said 
humble  subjects  were  eftsoons  brought  under  an  usurped  foreign 


The  Act  of  Supremacy  297 

power  and  authority,  and  do  yet  remain  in  that  bondage,  to  the 
intolerable  charges  of  your  loving  subjects,  if  some  redress,  by  the 
authority  of  this  your  High  Court  of  Parliament,  with  the  assent 
of  your  highness,  be  not  had  and  provided : 

II.  May  it  therefore  please  your  highness,  for  the  repressing  of 
the  said  usurped  foreign  power  and  the  restoring  of  the  rights, 
jurisdictions,  and  pre-eminences  appertaining  to  the  imperial  crown 
of  this  your  realm,  that  it  may  be  enacted  by  the  authority  of  this 
present  Parliament,  that  the  said  Act  made  in  the  said  first  and 
second  years  of  the  reigns  of  the  said  late  King  Philip  and  Queen 
Mary,  and  all  and  every  branches,  clauses,  and  articles  therein  con- 
tained (other  than  such  branches,  clauses,  and  sentences  as  here- 
after shall  be  excepted)  may,  from  the  last  day  of  this  session  of 
Parliament,  by  authority  of  this  present  Parliament,  be  repealed, 
and  shall  from  thenceforth  be  utterly  void  and  of  none  effect. 

XVI.  And  to  the  intent  that  all  usurped  and  foreign  power 
and  authority,  spiritual  and  temporal,  may  for   ever   be   clearly 
extinguished,  and  never  to  be  used  or  obeyed  within  this  realm, 
or  any  other  your  majesty's  dominions  or  countries,  may  it  please 
your  highness   that   it  may  be  further  enacted  by  the  authority 
aforesaid,  that  no  foreign  prince,  person,  prelate,  state,  or  poten- 
tate, spiritual  or  temporal,  shall  at  any  time  after  the  last  day  of 
this  session  of  Parliament,  use,  enjoy,  or  exercise  any  manner  of 
power,  jurisdiction,  superiority,  authority,  pre-eminence  or  privi- 
lege, spiritual  or  ecclesiastical,  within  this  realm,  or  within  any 
other  your  majesty's  dominions  or  countries  that  now  be,  or  here- 
after  shall  be,  but   from   thenceforth  the.  same  shall  be   clearly 
abolished  out  of  this  realm,  and  all  other  your  highness's  dominions 
for  ever;    any   statute,  ordinance,  custom,  constitutions,  or   any 
other  matter  or  cause  whatsoever  to  the  contrary  in  any  wise  not- 
withstanding. 

XVII.  And  that  also  it  may  likewise  please  your  highness,  that 
it  may  be  established  and  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  that 
such    jurisdictions,   privileges,  superiorities,  and   pre-eminences, 
spiritual   and    ecclesiastical,  as  by  any  spiritual  or  ecclesiastical 
power  or  authority  hath  heretofore  been,  or  may  lawfully  be  exer- 
cised or  used  for  the  visitation  of  the   ecclesiastical   state  and 
persons,  and  for  reformation,  order,  and  correction  of  the  same, 
and  of  all  manner  of  errors,  heresies,  schisms,  abuses,  offences, 
contempts,  and   enormities,  shall  for   ever,  by  authority  of  this 
present  Parliament,  be  united  and  annexed  to  the  imperial  crown 
of  this  realm. 


298  English  Constitutional  Documents 

XVIII.  And  that  your  highness,  your  heirs  and  successors,  kings 
or  queens  of  this  realm,  shall  have  full  power  and  authority  by 
virtue  of  this  Act,  by  letters  patent  under  the  great  seal  of  Eng- 
land, to  assign,  name,  and  authorize,  when  and  as  often  as  your 
highness,  your  heirs  or  successors,  shall  think  meet  and  conven- 
ient, and  for  such  and  so  long   time  as  shall  please  your  high- 
ness,  your   heirs  or   successors,  such   person  or   persons   being 
natural-born  subjects  to  your  highness,  your  heirs  or  successors, 
as  your  majesty,  your  heirs  or  successors,  shall  think  meet,  to  exer- 
cise, use,  occupy,  and  execute  under  your  highness,  your  heirs 
and  successors,  all  manner  of  jurisdictions,  privileges,  and  pre- 
eminences, in  any  wise  touching  or  concerning  any  spiritual  or 
ecclesiastical  jurisdiction,  within  these  your  realms  of  England  and 
Ireland,  or  any  other  your  highness's  dominions  or  countries ;  and 
to  visit,  reform,  redress,  order,  correct,  and  amend  all  such  errors, 
heresies,  schisms,  abuses,  offences,  contempts,  and  enormities  what- 
soever, which  by  any  manner  of  spiritual  or  ecclesiastical  power, 
authority,   or    jurisdiction,   can    or    may   lawfully   be   reformed, 
ordered,   redressed,   corrected,   restrained,  or   amended,  to   the 
pleasure  of  Almighty  God,  the  increase  of  virtue,  and  the  con- 
servation of  the  peace  and  unity  of  this   realm ;   and  that  such 
person  or  persons   so  to  be   named,  assigned,   authorized,  and 
appointed  by  your  highness,  your  heirs  or  successors,  after  the  said 
letters  patent  to  him  or  them  made  and  delivered,  as  is  aforesaid, 
shall  have  full  power  and  authority,  by  virtue  of  this  Act,  and  of 
the  said  letters  patent,  under  your  highness,  your  heirs  and  suc- 
cessors, to  exercise,  use,  and  execute  all  the  premises,  according 
to  the  tenor  and  effect  of  the  said  letters  patent ;  any  matter  or 
cause  to  the  contrary  in  any  wise  notwithstanding. 

XIX.  And  for  the  better  observation  and  maintenance  of  this 
Act,  may  it  please  your  highness  that  it  may  be  further  enacted  by 
the  authority  aforesaid,  that  all  and  every  archbishop,  bishop,  and 
all  and  every  other  ecclesiastical  person,  and  other  ecclesiastical 
officer   and   minister,  of  what   estate,  dignity,  pre-eminence,  or 
degree  soever  he  or  they  be  or  shall  be,  and  all  and  every  tem- 
poral judge,  justice,  mayor,  and  other  lay  or  temporal  officer  and 
minister,  and  every  other  person  having  your   highness's  fee  or 
wages,  within  this  realm,  or  any  your  highness's  dominions,  shall 
make,  take,  and  receive   a  corporal  oath  upon   the   evangelist, 
before  such  person  or   persons   as   shall   please   your  highness, 
your  heirs  or  successors,  under  the  great  seal  of  England  to  assign 
and  name,  to  accept  and  to  take  the  same  according  to  the  tenor 
and  effect  hereafter  following,  that  is  to  say : 


The  Act  of  Supremacy  299 

'  I,  A.  B.,  do  utterly  testify  and  declare  in  my  conscience,  that 
the  queen's  highness  is  the  only  supreme  governor  of  this  realm, 
and  of  all  other  her  highness's  dominions  and  countries,  as  well  in 
all  spiritual  or  ecclesiastical  things  or  causes,  as  temporal,  and  that 
no  foreign  prince,  person,  prelate,  state  or  potentate,  hath,  or  ought 
to  have,  any  jurisdiction,  power,  superiority,  pre-eminence,  or 
authority,  ecclesiastical  or  spiritual,  within  this  realm  ;  and  there- 
fore I  do  utterly  renounce  and  forsake  all  foreign  jurisdictions, 
powers,  superiorities,  and  authorities,  and  do  promise  that  from 
henceforth  I  shall  bear  faith  and  true  allegiance  to  the  queen's 
highness,  her  heirs  and  lawful  successors,  and  to  my  power  shall 
assist  and  defend  all  jurisdictions,  pre-eminences,  privileges,  and 
authorities  granted  or  belonging  to  the  queen's  highness,  her 
heirs  and  successors,  or  united  and  annexed  to  the  imperial 
crown  of  this  realm.  So  help  me  God,  and  by  the  contents  of 
this  book.' 

XX.  And  that  it  may  be  also  enacted,  that  if  any  such  arch- 
bishop, bishop,  or  other  ecclesiastical  officer  or  minister,  or  any  of 
the  said  temporal  judges,  justiciaries,  or  other  lay  officer  or  min- 
ister, shall  peremptorily  or  obstinately  refuse  to  take  or  receive 
the  said  oath,  that  then  he  so  refusing  shall  forfeit  and  lose,  only 
during  his  life,  all  and  every  ecclesiastical  and  spiritual  promotion, 
benefice,  and  office,  and  every  temporal  and  lay  promotion  and 
office,  which  he  has  solely  at  the  time  of  such  refusal  made ;  and 
that  the  whole  title,  interest,  and  incumbency,  in  every  such  pro- 
motion, benefice,  and  other  office,  as  against  such  person  only  so 
refusing,  during  his  life,  shall  clearly  cease  and  be  void,  as  though 
the  party  so  refusing  were  dead. 

XXI.  And  that  also  all  and  every  such  person  and  persons  so 
refusing  to  take  the  said  oath,  shall  immediately  after  such  refusal 
be  from  thenceforth,  during  his  life,  disabled  to  retain  or  exercise 
any  office  or  other  promotion  which  he,  at  the  time  of  such  re- 
fusal, has  jointly,  or  in  common,  with  any  other  person  or  persons. 

XXII.  And  that  all  and  every  person  and  persons,  that  at  any 
time  hereafter  shall  be  preferred,  promoted,  or  collated  to  any 
archbishopric  or  bishopric,  or  to  any  other  spiritual  or  ecclesiasti- 
cal benefice,  promotion,  dignity,  office,  or  ministry,  or  that  shall 
be  by  your  highness,  your  heirs  or  successors,  preferred  or  pro- 
moted to  any  temporal  or  lay  office,  ministry,  or  service  within 
this  realm,  or  in  any  your   highness's,  dominions,  before   he  or 
they  shall  take  upon  him  or  them  to  receive,  use,  exercise,  supply, 
or  occupy  any  such  archbishopric,  bishopric,  promotion,  dignity, 
office,  ministry,  or  service,  shall  likewise  make,  take,  and  receive 


300  English  Constitutional  Documents 

the  said  corporal  oath  before  mentioned,  upon  the  evangelist, 
before  such  persons  as  have  or  shall  have  authority  to  admit  any 
such  person  to  any  such  office,  ministry,  or  service,  or  else  before 
such  person  or  persons  as  by  your  highness,  your  heirs  or  succes- 
sors, by  commission  under  the  great  seal  of  England,  shall  be 
named,  assigned,  or  appointed  to  minister  the  said  oath. 

XXIII.  And  that  it  may  likewise  be   further  enacted   by  the 
authority  aforesaid,  that  if  any  such  person  or  persons,  as  at  any 
time  hereafter  shall  be  promoted,  preferred,  or  collated  to  any 
such  promotion  spiritual  or  ecclesiastical,  benefice,  office,  or  min- 
istry, or  that  by  your  highness,  your  heirs  or  successors,  shall  be 
promoted  or  preferred  to  any  temporal  or  lay  office,  ministry,  or 
service,  shall  and  do  peremptorily  and  obstinately  refuse  to  take 
the  same  oath  so  to  him  to  be  offered ;  that  then  he  or  they  so 
refusing  shall  presently  be  judged  disabled  in  the  law  to  receive, 
take,  or  have  the  same  promotion  spiritual  or  ecclesiastical,  the 
same  temporal  office,  ministry,  or  service  within  this  realm,  or 
any  other  your  highness's  dominions,  to  all  intents,  constructions, 
and  purposes. 

XXIV.  And  that  it  may  be  further  enacted  by  the  authority 
aforesaid,  that  all  and  every  person  and  persons  temporal,  suing 
livery  or  ouster  le  main  out  of  the  hands  of  your  highness,  your 
heirs  or  successors,  before  his  or  their  livery  or  ouster  le  main 
sued  forth  and  allowed,  and  every  temporal  person   or   persons 
doing  any  homage  to  your  highness,  your  heirs  or  successors,  or 
that  shall  be  received  into  service  with  your  highness,  your  heirs 
or  successors,  shall  make,  take,  and  receive  the  said  corporal  oath 
before  mentioned,  before  the  lord  chancellor  of  England,  or  the 
lord  keeper  of  the  great  seal  for  the  time  being,  or  before  such 
person  or  persons  as  by  your  highness,  your  heirs  or  successors, 
shall  be  named  and  appointed  to  accept  or  receive  the  same. 

XXV.  And  that  also  all  and  every  person  and  persons  taking 
orders,  and  all  and  every  other  person  and  persons  which  shall  be 
promoted  or  preferred  to  any  degree  of  learning  in  any  university 
within  this  your  realm  or  dominions,  before  he  shall  receive  or 
take  any  such  orders,  or  be  preferred  to  any  such  degree  of  learn- 
ing, shall  make,  take,  and  receive  the  said  oath  by  this  Act  set 
forth  and  declared  as  is  aforesaid,  before  his  or  their  ordinary, 
commissary,  chancellor  or  vice-chancellor,  or  their  sufficient  depu- 
ties in  the  said  university. 

XXVI.  Provided  always,  and  that  it  may  be  further  enacted  by 
the  authority  aforesaid,  that  if  any  person,  having  any  estate  of 
inheritance  in  any  temporal  office  or  offices,  shall  hereafter  obsti- 


The  Act  of  Supremacy  301 

nately  and  peremptorily  refuse  to  accept  and  take  the  said  oath  as 
is  aforesaid,  and  after,  at  any  time  during  his  life,  shall  willingly 
require  to  take  and  receive  the  said  oath,  and  so  do  take  and 
accept  the  same  oath  before  any  person  or  persons  that  shall  have 
lawful  authority  to  minister  the  same ;  that  then  every  such  per- 
son, immediately  after  he  has  so  received  the  same  oath,  shall  be 
vested,  deemed,  and  judged  in  like  estate  and  possession  of  the 
said  office,  as  he  was  before  the  said  refusal,  and  shall  and  may 
use  and  exercise  the  said  office  in  such  manner  and  form  as  he 
should  or  might  have  done  before  such  refusal,  anything  in  this 
Act  contained  to  the  contrary  in  any  wise  notwithstanding. 

XXVII.  And  for  the  more  sure  observation  of  this  Act,  and 
the  utter  extinguishment  of  all  foreign  and  usurped   power  and 
authority,  may  it  please  your  highness,  that  it  may  be  further 
enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  that  if  any  person  or  persons 
dwelling  or  inhabiting  within  this  your  realm,  or  in  any  other  your 
highness's  realms  or  dominions^  of  what  estate,  dignity,  or  degree 
soever  he  or  they  be,  after  the  end  of  thirty  days  next  after  the 
determination  of  this  session  of  this  present  Parliament,  shall  by 
writing,  printing,  teaching,  preaching,  express  words,  deed  or  act, 
advisedly,  maliciously,  and  directly  affirm,  hold,  stand  with,  set 
forth,  maintain,  or  defend  the  authority,  pre-eminence,  power  or 
jurisdiction,  spiritual  or  ecclesiastical,  of  any  foreign  prince,  prel- 
ate, person,  state,  or  potentate  whatsoever,  heretofore  claimed, 
used,  or  usurped  within  this  realm,  or  any  dominion  or  country 
being  within  or  under  the  power,  dominion,  or  obeisance  of  your 
highness ;  or  shall  advisedly,  maliciously,  and  directly  put  in  use  or 
execute  anything   for  the  extolling,  advancement,  setting  forth, 
maintenance,  or  defence  of  any  such  pretended  or  usurped  juris- 
diction, power,  pre-eminence,  or  authority,  or  any  part  thereof; 
that  then  every  such  person  and  persons  so  doing  and  offending, 
their  abettors,  aiders,  procurers,  and  counsellors,  being  thereof 
lawfully  convicted  and  attainted,  according  to  the  due  order  and 
course  of  the  common  laws  of  this  realm,  for  his  or  their  first 
offence  shall  forfeit  and  lose  unto  your  highness,  your  heirs  and  suc- 
cessors, all  his  and  their  goods  and  chattels,  as  well  real  as  personal. 

XXVIII.  And  if  any  such  person  so  convicted  or  attainted  shall 
not  have  or  be  worth  of  his  proper  goods  and  chattels  to  the 
value  of  twenty  pounds,  at  the  time  of  his  conviction  or  attainder, 
that  then  every  such  person  so  convicted  and  attainted,  over  and 
besides  the  forfeiture  of  all  his  said  goods  and  chattels,  shall  have 
and  suffer  imprisonment,  by  the  space  of  one  whole  year,  without 
bail  or  mainprise. 


302  English  Constitutional  Documents 

XXIX.  And  that  also  all  and  every  the  benefices,  prebends,  and 
other  ecclesiastical  promotions  and  dignities  whatsoever,  of  every 
spiritual  person  so  offending,  and  being  attainted,  shall  immedi- 
ately after  such  attainder  be  utterly  void  to  all  intents  and  pur- 
poses, as  though  the  incumbent  thereof  were  dead  ;  and  that  the 
patron  and  donor  of  every  such  benefice,  prebend,  spiritual  pro- 
motion and  dignity,  shall  and  may  lawfully  present  unto  the  same, 
or  give  the  same,  in  such  manner  and  form  as  if  the  said  incum- 
bent were  dead ;  and  if  any  offender  or  offenders,  after  such  convic- 
tion or  attainder,  do  eftsoons   commit  or  do  the  said   offences, 
or  any  of  them,  in  manner  and  form  aforesaid,  and  be  thereof 
duly  convicted  and  attainted,  as  is  aforesaid ;   that   then   every 
such   offender  and  offenders  shall  for  the  same  second  offence 
incur  into  the  dangers,  penalties,  and   forfeitures   ordained  and 
provided  by  the  statute  of  Provision  and  Prcemunire,  made  in  the 
sixteenth  year  of  the  reign  of  King  Richard  II. 

XXX.  And  if  any  such  offender  or  offenders,  at  any  time  after 
the  said  second  conviction  and  attainder,  do  the  third  time  com- 
mit and  do  the  said  offences,  or  any  of  them,  in  manner  and  form 
aforesaid,  and  be  thereof  duly  convicted  and  attainted,  as  is  afore- 
said; that  then  every  such  offence  or  offences  shall  be  deemed 
and  adjudged  high  treason,  and  that  the  offender  and  offenders 
therein,  being  thereof  lawfully  convicted  and  attainted,  according 
to  the  laws  of  this  realm,  shall  suffer  pains  of  death,  and  other 
penalties,  forfeitures,  and  losses,  as  in  cases  of  high  treason  by 
the  laws  of  this  realm. 


1 68.    The  Act  of  Uniformity 

(1559.     I  Elizabeth,  c.  2.    4  S.  Jf.  355.    The  whole  act  reprinted  in  G.  and  H. 
459-466.) 

WHERE  at  the  death  of  our  late  sovereign  lord  King  Ed- 
ward VI  there  remained  one  uniform  order  of  common 
service  and  prayer,  and  of  the  administration  of  sacraments,  rites, 
and  ceremonies  in  the  Church  of  England,  which  was  set  forth  in 
one  book,  entitled  :  The  Book  of  Common  Prayer,  and  Adminis- 
tration of  Sacraments,  and  other  rites  and  ceremonies  in  the 
Church  of  England ;  authorized  by  Act  of  Parliament  holden  in 
the  fifth  and  sixth  years  of  our  said  late  sovereign  lord  King  Ed- 
ward VI,  entitled  :  An  Act  for  the  uniformity  of  common  prayer, 


The  Act  of  Uniformity  303 

and  administration  of  the  sacraments;  the  which  was  repealed 
and  taken  away  by  Act  of  Parliament  in  the  first  year  of  the  reign 
of  our  late  sovereign  lady  Queen  Mary,  to  the  great  decay  of  the 
due  honour  of  God,  and  discomfort  to  the  professors  of  the  truth 
of  Christ's  religion : 

II.  Be  it  therefore   enacted  by  the   authority  of  this   present 
Parliament,  that  the  said  statute  of  repeal,  and  everything  therein 
contained,  only  concerning  the  said  book,  and   the   service,  ad- 
ministration of  sacraments,  rites,  and   ceremonies   contained   or 
appointed  in  or  by  the  said  book,  shall  be  void  and  of  none  effect, 
from  and  after  the  feast  of  the  Nativity  of  St.  John  Baptist  next 
coming ;  and  that  the  said  book,  with  the  order  of  service,  and  of 
the  administration  of  sacraments,  rites,  and  ceremonies,  with  the 
alterations   and  additions  therein   added  and   appointed  by  this 
statute,  shall  stand  and  be,  from  and  after  the  said  feast  of  the 
Nativity  of  St.  John  Baptist,  in  full  force  and  effect,  according  to 
the  tenor  and  effect  of  this  statute ;   anything  in  the  aforesaid 
statute  of  repeal  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding. 

III.  And  further  be  it  enacted  by  the  queen's  highness,  with 
the  assent  of  the  Lords  and  Commons  in  this  present  Parliament 
assembled,  and  by  the  authority  of  the  same,  that  all  and  singu- 
lar ministers  in  any  cathedral  or  parish  church,  or  other   place 
within  this  realm  of  England,  Wales,  and  the  marches  of  the  same, 
or  other  the  queen's  dominions,  shall  from  and  after  the  feast  of 
the  Nativity  of  St.  John  Baptist  next  coming  be  bounden  to  say 
and  use  the  Matins,  Evensong,  celebration  of  the  Lord's  Supper 
and  administration  of  each  of  the  sacraments,  and  all  the  com- 
mon and  open  prayer,  in  such  order  and  form  as  is  mentioned  in 
the  said  book,  so  authorized  by  Parliament  in  the  said  fifth  and 
sixth  years  of  the  reign  of  King  Edward  VI,  with  one  alteration  or 
addition,  of  certain  lessons  to  be  used  on  every  Sunday  in  the 
year,  and  the  form  of  the  Litany  altered  and  corrected,  and  two 
sentences  only  added  in  the  delivery  of  the  sacrament  to  the 
communicants,  and  none  other  or  otherwise. 

IV.  And  that  if  any  manner  of  parson,  vicar,  or  other  whatso- 
ever minister,  that  ought  or  should  sing  or  say  common  prayer 
mentioned  in  the  said  book,  or  minister  the  sacraments,  from  and 
after  the  feast  of  the  Nativity  of  St.  John  Baptist  next  coming, 
refuse  to  use  the  said  common  prayers,  or  to  minister  the  sacra- 
ments in  such  cathedral  or  parish  church,  or  other  places  as  he 
should  use  to  minister  the  same,  in  such  order  and  form  as  they 
be  mentioned  and  set  forth  in  the  said  book  :  or  shall  wilfully  or 
obstinately  standing  in  the  same,  use  any  other  rite,  ceremony, 


304          English  Constitutional   Documents 

order,  form,  or  manner  of  celebrating  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  openly 
or  privily,  or  Matins,  Evensong,  administration  of  the  sacraments, 
or  other  open  prayers,  than  is  mentioned  and  set  forth  in  the  said 
book  (open  prayer  in  and  throughout  this  Act,  is  meant  that 
prayer  which  is  for  others  to  come  unto,  or  hear,  either  in  common 
churches  or  private  chapels  or  oratories,  commonly  called  the  ser- 
vice of  the  Church),  or  shall  preach,  declare,  or  speak  anything 
in  the  derogation  or  depraving  of  the  said  book,  or  anything 
therein  contained,  or  of  any  part  thereof,  and  shall  be  thereof  law- 
fully convicted,  according  to  the  laws  of  this  realm,  by  verdict  of 
twelve  men,  or  by  his  own  confession,  or  by  the  notorious  evidence 
of  the  fact,  shall  lose  and  forfeit  to  the  queen's  highness,  her  heirs 
and  successors,  for  his  first  offence,  the  profit  of  all  his  spiritual 
benefices  or  promotions  coming  or  arising  in  one  whole  year  next 
after  his  conviction ;  and  also  that  the  person  so  convicted  shall 
for  the  same  offence  suffer  imprisonment  by  the  space  of  six  months, 
without  bail  or  mainprize. 

V.  And  if  any  such  person  once  convicted  of  any  offence  con- 
cerning the  premises,  shall  after  his  first  conviction  eftsoons  offend, 
and  be  thereof,  in  form  aforesaid,  lawfully  convicted,  that  then  the 
same  person  shall  for  his  second  offence  suffer  imprisonment  by 
the  space  of  one  whole  year,  and  also  shall  therefor  be  deprived, 
ipso  facto,  of  all  his  spiritual  promotions  ;  and  that  it  shall  be  lawful 
to  all  patrons  or  donors  of  all  and  singular  the  same  spiritual  pro- 
motions, or  of  any  of  them,  to  present  or  collate  to  the  same,  as 
though  the  person  and  persons  so  offending  were  dead. 

VI.  And  that  if  any  such  person  or  persons,  after  he  shall  be 
twice  convicted  in  form  aforesaid,  shall  offend  against  any  of  the 
premises  the  third  time,  and  shall  be  thereof,  in  form  aforesaid, 
lawfully  convicted,  that  then  the  person  so  offending  and  convicted 
the  third  time,  shall  be  deprived,  ipso  facto,  of  all  his  spiritual 
promotions,  and  also  shall  suffer  imprisonment  during  his  life. 

VII.  And  if  the  person  that  shall  offend,  and  be  convicted  in 
form  aforesaid,  concerning  any  of  the  premises,  shall  not  be  bene- 
ficed,  nor  have  any  spiritual  promotion,  that  then  the  same  person 
so  offending  and  convicted  shall  for  the  first  offence  suffer  impris- 
onment during  one  whole  year  next  after  his  said  conviction,  with- 
out bail  or  mainprize. 

VIII.  And  if  any  such  person,  not  having  any  spiritual  pro- 
motion, after  his  first  conviction  shall  eftsoons  offend  in  anything 
concerning  the  premises,  and  shall,  in  form  aforesaid,  be  thereof 
lawfully  convicted,  that  then  the  same  person  shall  for  his  second 
offence  suffer  imprisonment  during  his  life. 


The  Act  of  Uniformity  305 

IX.  And  it  is  ordained  and  enacted  by  the  authority  afore- 
said, that  if  any  person  or  persons  whatsoever,  after  the  said  feast 
of  the  Nativity  of  St.  John  Baptist  next  coming,  shall  in  any  inter- 
ludes, plays,  songs,  rhymes,  or  by  other  open  words,  declare  or 
speak  anything  in  the  derogation,  depraving,  or  despising  of  the 
same  book,  or  of  anything  therein  contained,  or  any  part  thereof; 
or  shall,  by  open  fact,  deed,  or  by  open  threatenings,  compel  or 
cause,  or  otherwise  procure  or  maintain,  any  parson,  vicar,  or  other 
minister  in  any  cathedral  or  parish  church,  or  in  chapel,  or  in 
any  other  place,  to  sing  or  say  any  common  or  open  prayer,  or 
to  minister  any  sacrament  otherwise,  or  in  any  other  manner  and 
form,  than  is  mentioned  in  the  said  book ;  or  that  by  any  of  the 
said  means  shall  unlawfully  interrupt  or  let  any  parson,  vicar,  or 
other  minister  in  any  cathedral  or  parish  church,  chapel,  or  any 
other  place,  to  sing  or  say  common  and  open  prayer,  or  to  min- 
ister the  sacraments  or  any  of  them,  in  such  manner  and  form  as 
is  mentioned  in  the  said  book ;  that  then  every  such  person,  being 
thereof  lawfully  convicted  in  form  abovesaid,  shall  forfeit  to  the 
queen  our  sovereign  lady,  her  heirs  and  successors,  for  the  first 
offence  a  hundred  marks. 

•  X.  And  if  any  person  or  persons,  being  once  convicted  of  any 
such  offence,  eftsoons  offend  against  any  of  the  last  recited  offences, 
and  shall,  in  form  aforesaid,  be  thereof  lawfully  convicted,  that 
then  the  same  person  so  offending  and  convicted  shall,  for  the 
second  offence,  forfeit  to  the  queen  our  sovereign  lady,  her  heirs 
and  successors,  four  hundred  marks. 

XI.  And  if  any  person,  after  he,  in  form  aforesaid,  shall  have 
been  twice  convicted  of  any  offence  concerning  any  of  the  last 
recited  offences,  shall  offend  the  third  time,  and  be  thereof,  in 
form   abovesaid,   lawfully  convicted,    that  then  every  person  so 
offending  and  convicted  shall  for  his  third  offence  forfeit  to  our 
sovereign  lady  the  queen  all  his  goods  and  chattels,  and  shall  suffer 
imprisonment  during  his  life. 

XII.  And  if  any  person  or  persons,  that  for  his  first  offence  con- 
cerning the  premises  shall  be  convicted,  in  form  aforesaid,  do  not 
pay  the  sum  to  be  paid  by  virtue  of  his  conviction,  in  such  man- 
ner and  form  as  the  same  ought  to  be  paid,  within  six  weeks  next 
after  his  conviction ;  that  then  every  person  so  convicted,  and  so 
not  paying  the  same,  shall  for  the  same  first  offence,  instead  of  the 
said  sum,  suffer  imprisonment  by  the  space  of  six  months,  without 
bail  or  mainprize. 

XIII.  And  if  any  person  or  persons,  that  for  his  second  offence 
concerning  the  premises  shall  be   convicted   in   form   aforesaid, 

x 


306          English  Constitutional  Documents 

do  not  pay  the  said  sum  to  be  paid  by  virtue  of  his  conviction 
and  this  statute,  in  such  manner  and  form  as  the  same  ought  to 
be  paid,  within  six  weeks  next  after  his  said  second  conviction ; 
that  then  every  person  so  convicted,  and  not  so  paying  the  same, 
shall,  for  the  same  second  offence,  in  the  stead  of  the  said  sum, 
suffer  imprisonment  during  twelve  months,  without  bail  or 
mainprize. 

XIV.  And  that  from  and  after  the  said  feast  of  the  Nativity  of 
St.  John  Baptist  next  coming,  all  and  every  person  and  persons 
inhabiting  within  this  realm,  or  any  other  the  queen's  majesty's 
dominions,  shall  diligently  and  faithfully,  having  no  lawful  or  rea- 
sonable excuse  to  be  absent,  endeavour  themselves  to  resort  to 
their  parish  church  or  chapel  accustomed,  or  upon  reasonable  let 
thereof,  to  some  usual  place  where  common  prayer  and  such  ser- 
vice of  God  shall  be  used  in  such  time  of  let,  upon  every  Sunday 
and  other  days  ordained  and  used  to  be  kept  as  holy  days,  and 
then  and  there  to  abide  orderly  and  soberly  during  the  time  of 
the  common  prayer,  preachings,  or  other  service  of  God  there  to 
be  used  and  ministered  ;  upon  pain  of  punishment  by  the  censures 
of  the  Church,  and  also  upon  pain  that  every  person  so  offending 
shall  forfeit  for  every  such  offence  twelve  pence,  to  be  levied  by  the 
churchwardens  of  the  parish  where  such  offence  shall  be  done,  to 
the  use  of  the  poor  of  the  same  parish,  of  the  goods,  lands,  and 
tenements  of  such  offender,  by  way  of  distress. 


169.    Act  of  Recognition  of  the  Queen's  Title 

(1559.     I  Elizabeth,  c.  3.     Prothero,  21.) 

AS  there  is  nothing  under  God,  most  dread  Sovereign  Lady, 
wherein  we  your  most  humble,  faithful  and  obedient  sub- 
jects, the  Lords  spiritual  and  temporal  and  Commons  in  this  pres- 
ent Parliament  assembled,  have,  may  or  ought  to  have  more  cause 
to  rejoice  than  in  this  only,  that  it  hath  pleased  God  of  his  merci- 
ful providence  and  goodness  towards  us  and  this  our  realm  not 
only  to  provide  but  also  to  preserve  and  keep  for  us  and  our 
wealths  your  royal  Majesty  our  most  rightful  and  lawful  Sovereign 
Liege  Lady  and  Queen,  most  happily  to  reign  over  us ;  for  the 
which  we  do  give  and  yield  unto  him  from  the  bottoms  of  our 
hearts  our  humble  thanks,  lauds  and  praises ;  even  so  there  is 


The  Treason  Act  307 

nothing  that  we  your  said  subjects  for  our  parties  can,  may  or 
ought  towards  your  Highness  more  firmly,  entirely  and  assuredly 
in  the  purity  of  our  hearts  think  or  with  our  mouths  declare  and 
confess  to  be  true,  than  that  your  Majesty  our  said  Sovereign  Lady 
is,  and  in  very  deed  and  of  most  mere  right  ought  to  be,  by  the 
laws  of  God  and  the  laws  and  statutes  of  this  realm,  our  most 
rightful  and  lawful  Sovereign  Liege  Lady  and  Queen ;  and  that 
your  Highness  is  rightly,  lineally  and  lawfully  descended  and  come 
of  the  blood  royal  of  this  realm  of  England,  in  and  to  whose 
princely  person,  and  the  heirs  of  your  body  lawfully  to  be  begotten, 
after  you,  without  all  doubt,  *  *  *  the  imperial  and  royal  estate, 
place,  crown,  and  dignity  of  this  realm,  with  all  honours  *  *  *  and 
preeminences  to  the  same  now  belonging  and  appertaining,  are  and 
shall  be  most  fully  *  *  *  invested  and  incorporated  *  *  *  as  right- 
fully and  lawfully  *  *  *  as  the  same  were  in  the  said  late  King 
Henry  the  Eighth  or  in  the  late  King  Edward  the  Sixth  *  *  *  or 
in  the  late  Queen  Mary  *  *  *  at  any  time  since  the  act  of  parlia- 
ment made  in  the  thirty-fifth  year  of  the  reign  of  your  said  most 
noble  father  King  Henry  the  Eighth,  entitled  An  Act  concerning 
the  establishment  of  the  King's  Majesty's  succession  in  the  impe- 
rial crown  of  this  realm. 


IV.  And  that  it  may  be  enacted,  That  as  well  this  our  declara- 
tion *  *  *  as  also  the  limitation  and  declaration  of  the  succession 
*  *  *  contained  in  the  said  Act  *  *  *  shall  stand  the  law  of  this 
realm  for  ever. 


170.    The  Treason  Act 

(1559.     i  Elizabeth,  c.  5.     Prothero,  23-25.) 

*  *  *  T)E  it  enacted  *  *  *  that  if  any  person  or  persons  after 
-D  the  first  day  of  May  next  to  come  do  maliciously, 
advisedly  and  directly  compass  or  imagine  to  deprive  the  Queen's 
Majesty  *  *  *  from  the  style,  honour  and  kingly  name  of  the 
imperial  crown  of  this  realm,  or  from  any  other  the  realms  and 
dominions  unto  our  said  Sovereign  Lady  appertaining,  or  to  destroy 
the  Queen's  Majesty  *  *  *  or  to  levy  war  within  this  realm  or 
within  any  the  marches  or  dominions  to  the  same  belonging 


308  English  Constitutional  Documents 

against  the  Queen's  Majesty  *  *  *  or  to  depose  the  Queen's 
Majesty  *  *  *  from  the  imperial  crown  of  the  realms  and  domin- 
ions aforesaid ;  and  the  same  compasses  or  imaginations  or  any 
of  them,  maliciously,  advisedly  and  directly  shall  or  do  utter  by 
open  preaching  express  words  or  sayings;  or  if  any  person  or 
persons  after  the  said  first  day  of  May  next  coming,  shall  mali- 
ciously, advisedly  and  directly  say  *  *  *  or  hold  opinion,  that  the 
Queen's  Majesty  that  now  is,  during  her  life,  is  not  or  ought  not 
to  be  Queen  of  this  realm,  or  after  her  death  that  the  heirs  of  her 
Highness'  body,  being  Kings  or  Queens  of  this  realm,  of  right 
ought  not  to  be  Kings  or  Queens  of  this  realm,  or  that  any  other 
person  than  the  Queen's  Highness  that  now  is  during  her  life 
ought  to  be  King  or  Queen  of  this  realm  *  *  *  ;  that  then  every 
such  offender  being  thereof  duly  convicted  *  *  *  their  abettors 
and  counsellors  *  *  *  shall  forfeit  and  lose  to  the  Queen's  High- 
ness, her  heirs  and  successors,  all  their  goods  and  chattels,  and 
the  whole  issues  and  profits  of  their  lands,  tenements  and  heredita- 
ments, for  term  of  the  life  of  every  such  offender  or  offenders, 
and  also  shall  suffer  during,  their  lives  perpetual  imprisonment. 

II.  Provided  *  *  *  that  every  ecclesiastical  person  being  con- 
victed in  form  aforesaid  *  *  *  shall  *  *  *  be  *  *  *  deprived  from 
all  his  benefices  and  promotions  spiritual  or  ecclesiastical.  *  *  * 

III.  And  if  any  person  being  hereafter  convicted  of  any  the 
said  offences  *  *  *  shall  *  *  *  eftsoons  commit  any  of  the  said 
offences  *  *  *  that  then  every  such  second  offence  shall  be  deemed 
high  treason  and  the  offenders  therein,  their  abettors  [&c.J  shall 
be  deemed  high  traitors,  and  shall  suffer  pains  of  death  and  for- 
feit all  their  goods,  chattels,  lands  and  tenements  to  the  Queen's 
Majesty,  her  heirs  and  successors.  *  *  * 

IV.  And  be  it  further  enacted  *  *  *  That  if  any  person  *  *  * 
by  any  writing,  printing,  overt  deed  or  act  *  *  *  do  affirm  that  the 
Queen's  Majesty  that  now  is  ought  not  to  have  the  style,  honour, 
and  kingly  name  of  this  realm,  or  that  any  person  other  than  the 
Queen's  Majesty  that  now  is,  ought  to  have  the  style,  honour,  and 
kingly  name  of  this  realm,  or  that  the  Queen's  Majesty  that  now  is 
during  her  life  is  not  or  ought  not  to  be  Queen  of  this  realm  *  *  * 
that  then  every  such  offence  shall  be  adjudged  high  treason,  and 
the  offender  and  offenders  therein,  their  abettors  [&c.]  *  *  *  shall 
be  deemed  and  adjudged  high  traitors  and  shall  suffer  pains  of  death 
and  forfeit  all  their  goods  [&c.]  to  the  Queen's  Majesty.  *  *  * 

V.  [Saving  of  titles  of  strangers.] 

VI.  Provided  *  *  *  that  concealment  of  any  high  treasons  be 
deemed  only  misprision  of  treason  and  the  offenders  therein  to  for- 


Grant  of  Tonnage  and  Poundage  309 

feit  and  suffer  as  in  cases  of  misprision  of  treason  hath  hereto- 
fore been  used.  *  *  * 

VII.  [Peers  to  be  tried  by  their  peers.] 

VIII.  And  be  it  further  enacted  *  *  *  that  no  person  shall  be 
impeached  for  any  of  the  offences  above-said  committed  only  by 
open  preaching  or  words,  unless  the  offender  be  thereof  indicted 
within  six  months.  *  *  * 

IX.  [Punishment  of  accessories.] 

X.  Provided  *  *  *  that  no  person  shall  be  hereafter  indicted  for 
any  offence  made  treason  or  misprision  of  treason  by  this  Act,  unless 
the  same  offence  *  *  *  be  proved  by  the  testimony  and  oath  of  two 
lawful  and  sufficient  witnesses  at  the  time  of  his  indictment ;  which 
said  witnesses  also  at  the  time  of  the  arraignment  of  the  party  so 
indicted  (if  they  be  then  living)  shall  be  brought  forth  in  person 
before  the  party  so  arraigned  face  to  face,  and  there  shall  avow  all 
they  can  say  against  the  said  party  so  indicted,  unless  the  said 
party  so  indicted  shall  willingly  without  violence  confess  the  same. 


171.    Grant  of  Tonnage  and  Poundage 

(1559.     I  Elizabeth,  c.  20.     Prothero,  26,  27.) 

IN  their  most  humble  wise  show  unto  your  most  excellent 
Majesty,  your  poor  and  obedient  subjects  and  Commons  in 
this  your  present  Parliament  assembled,  That  where  as  well  your 
noble  grandfather  of  worthy  memory,  King  Henry  the  Seventh 
*  *  *  as  other  your  right  noble  and  famous  progenitors,  kings  of 
this  your  realm  of  England,  time  out  of  mind,  have  had  and 
enjoyed  unto  them  by  authority  of  Parliament,  for  the  defence  of 
the  same  now  your  realm,  and  the  keeping  and  safeguard  of  the 
seas  for  the  intercourse  of  merchandize,  safely  to  come  into  and 
pass  out  of  the  same,  certain  sums  of  money,  named  subsidies,  of 
all  manner  of  goods  and  merchandize,  coming  in  or  going  out  of 
the  same  your  realm  ;  *  *  *  we  your  said  poor  Commons,  by  the 
advice  and  consent  of  the  Lords  spiritual  and  temporal  in  this 
your  present  Parliament  assembled,  and  by  the  authority  of  the 
same,  to  the  intent  aforesaid,  give  and  grant  to  you  our  supreme 
Liege  Lady  and  Sovereign,  one  subsidy  called  Tonnage,  that  is  to 
say,  of  every  ton  of  wine  *  *  *  that  shall  or  is  come  into  this  your 
realm,  by  way  of  merchandize,  the  sum  of  3^.,  and  so  after  the 
rate,  and  of  every  ton  of  sweet  wine  as  well  malvesey  as  other, 


310  English  Constitutional   Documents 

that  shall  or  is  come  into  the  same  your  realm  by  any  merchant- 
alien,  *  *  *  3.$-.,  and  so  after  the  rate,  over  and  above  the  3^. 
afore  granted ;  and  of  every  awm  of  Rhenish  wine  coming  into 
this  your  realm  *  *  *  \2d. :  and  also  one  other  subsidy  called 
Poundage,  that  is  to  say,  of  all  manner  of  goods  and  merchandizes 
of  every  merchant,  denizens,  and  alien,  *  *  *  carried  out  of  this 
your  said  realm  or  brought  into  the  same  by  way  of  merchandize, 
of  the  value  of  every  zos.  of  the  same  goods  and  merchandize, 
i2</.,  and  so  after  the  rate;  and  of  every  2os.  value  of  tin  and 
pewter  vessel  carried  out  of  this  your  realm  by  any  and  every 
merchant-alien,  \zd.  over  and  above  the  \2d.  aforesaid.  *  *  * 


172.    Establishment  of  the  Court  of  High 
Commission 

(1559.     Prothero,  227-231.) 

ELIZABETH  by  the  grace  of  God  [&c.].  To  the  reverend 
father  in  God  Mathew  Parker,  nominated  bishop  of  Canter- 
bury, and  Edmond  Grindall,  nominated  bishop  of  London,  and  to 
our  right  trusted  and  right  well-beloved  councillors  Francis  Knowles 
our  vice-chamberlain,  and  Ambrose  Cave,  knights,  and  to  our  trusty 
and  well-beloved  Anthony  Cooke  and  Thomas  Smyth,  knights, 
William  Bill  our  almoner,  Walter  Haddon  and  Thomas  Sackford, 
masters  of  our  requests,  Rowland  Hill  and  William  Chester,  knights, 
Randoll  Cholmely  and  John  Southcote,  Serjeants  at  the  law,  Will- 
iam May,  doctor  of  law,  Francis  Cave,  Richard  Gooderick  and 
Gilbert  Gerrard,  esquires,  Robert  Weston  and  Thomas  Huick, 
doctors  of  law,  greeting. 

[II.]  Where  at  our  Parliament  holden  at  Westminster  the  25th 
day  of  January  and  there  continued  and  kept  until  the  eighth  of 
May  then  next  following,  amongst  other  things,  there  was  two  Acts 
and  Statutes  made  and  established,  the  one  entitled  '  An  Act  for 
the  uniformity  of  Common  Prayer  [&c.],'  and  the  other  entitled 
'An  Act  restoring  to  the  Crown  the  ancient  jurisdiction  [&c.],'  as 
by  the  same  several  Acts  more  at  large  doth  appear :  and  where 
divers  seditious  and  slanderous  persons  do  not  cease  daily  to 
invent  and  set  forth  false  rumours,  tales,  and  seditious  slanders, 
not  only  against  us  and  the  said  good  laws  and  statutes,  but  also 
have  set  forth  divers  seditious  books  within  this  our  realm  of  Eng- 
land, meaning  thereby  to  move  and  procure  strife,  division  and 


Establishment  of  Court  of  High  Commission     311 

dissension  amongst  our  loving  and  obedient  subjects,  much  to  the 
disquieting  of  us  and  our  people  : 

[III.]  Wherefore  we,  earnestly  minding  to  have  the  same  Acts 
before  mentioned  to  be  duly  put  in  execution,  and  such  persons 
as  shall  hereafter  offend  in  anything  contrary  to  the  tenor  and 
effect  of  the  said  several  statutes  to  be  condignly  punished,  and 
having  especial  trust  and  confidence  in  your  wisdoms  and  discre- 
tions, have  authorised,  assigned  and  appointed  you  to  be  our  com- 
missioners, and  by  these  presents  do  give  our  full  power  and 
authority  to  you,  or  six  of  you,  whereof  you,  the  said  Mathew 
Parker,  Edmond  Grindall,  Thomas  Smyth,  Walter  Haddon,  Thomas 
Sackford,  Richard  Gooderick  and  Gilbert  Gerrard,  to  be  one,  from 
time  to  time  hereafter,  during  our  pleasure,  to  enquire  as  well  by 
the  oaths  of  twelve  good  and  lawful  men,  as  also  by  witnesses  and 
all  other  ways  and  means  ye  can  devise,  for  all  offences,  misdoers 
and  misdemeanours  done  and  committed  and  hereafter  to  be 
committed  or  done  contrary  to  the  tenor  and  effect  of  the  said 
several  acts  and  statutes  and  either  of  them,  and  also  of  all  and 
singular  heretical  opinions,  seditious  books,  contempts,  conspira- 
cies, false  rumours,  tales,  seditions,  misbehaviours,  slanderous 
words  or  shewings,  published,  invented  or  set  forth,  or  hereafter 
to  be  published,  invented  or  set  forth  by  any  person  or  persons 
against  us  or  contrary  or  against  any  the  laws  or  statutes  of  this 
our  realm,  or  against  the  quiet  governance  and  rule  of  our  people 
and  subjects  in  any  county,  city,  borough  or  other  place  or  places 
within  this  our  realm  of  England,  and  of  all  and  every  the  coad- 
jutors, counsellors,  comforters,  procurers  and  abettors  of  every 
such  offender. 

[IV.]  And  further,  we  do  give  power  and  authority  to  you  or 
six  of  you  [quorum  as  before],  from  time  to  time  hereafter  during 
our  pleasure,  as  well  to  hear  and  determine  all  the  premises,  as 
also  to  enquire,  hear  and  determine  all  and  singular  enormities, 
disturbances  and  misbehaviours,  done  and  committed  or  hereafter 
to  be  done  or  committed  in  any  church  or  chapel,  or  against  any 
divine  service,  or  the  minister  or  ministers  of  the  same,  contrary 
to  the  laws  and  statutes  of  this  realm :  and  also  to  enquire  of, 
search  out  and  to  order,  correct  and  reform  all  such  persons  as 
hereafter  shall  or  will  obstinately  absent  themselves  from  church 
and  such  divine  service  as  by  the  laws  and  statutes  of  this  realm  is 
appointed  to  be  had  and  used. 

[V.]  And  also  we  do  give  and  grant  full  power  and  authority 
unto  you  and  six  of  you  [quorum  as  before]  from  time  to  time  and 
at  all  times  during  our  pleasure,  to  visit,  reform,  redress,  order, 


312  English  Constitutional  Documents 

correct  and  amend  in  all  places  within  this  our  realm  of  England 
all  such  errors,  heresies,  crimes,  abuses,  offences,  contempts  and 
enormities  spiritual  and  ecclesiastical  wheresoever,  which  by  any 
spiritual  or  ecclesiastical  power,  authority  or  jurisdiction  can  or 
may  lawfully  be  reformed,  ordered,  redressed,  corrected,  restrained 
or  amended,  to  the  pleasure  of  Almighty  God,  the  increase  of  vir- 
tue, and  the  conservation  of  the  peace  and  unity  of  this  our  realm, 
and  according  to  the  authority  and  power  limited,  given  and  ap- 
pointed by  any  laws  or  statutes. of  this  realm. 

[VI.]  And  also  that  you  or  six  of  you  [quorum  as  before]  shall 
likewise  have  full  power  and  authority  from  time  to  time  to  enquire 
of  and  search  out  all  masterless  men,  quarrellers,  vagrant  and  sus- 
pect persons  within  our  city  of  London,  and  ten  miles  compass 
about  the  same  city,  and  of  all  assaults  and  affrays  done  and  com- 
mitted within  the  same  city  and  compass  aforesaid. 

[VII.]  And  also  we  give  full  power  and  authority  unto  you  and 
six  of  you,  as  before,  summarily  to  hear  and  finally  determine, 
according  to  your  discretions  and  by  the  laws  of  this  realm,  all 
causes  and  complaints  of  all  them,  which  in  respect  of  religion,  or 
for  lawful  matrimony  contracted  and  allowed  by  the  same,  were 
injuriously  deprived,  defrauded  or  spoiled  of  their  lands,  goods, 
possessions,  rights,  dignities,  livings,  offices,  spiritual  or  temporal ; 
and  them  so  deprived,  as  before,  to  restore  into  their  said  livings, 
and  to  put  them  in  possession,  amoving  the  usurpers  in  convenient 
speed,  as  it  shall  seem  to  your  discretions  good,  by  your  letters 
missive  or  otherwise,  all  frustratory  appellations  clearly  rejected. 

[VIII. ]  And  further,  we  do  give  power  and  authority  unto  you 
and  six  of  you  [quorum  as  before],  by  virtue  hereof,  not  only  to 
hear  and  determine  the  same  and  all  other  offences  and  matters 
before  mentioned  and  rehearsed,  but  also  all  other  notorious  and 
manifest  advoutries,  fornications  and  ecclesiastical  crimes  and 
offences  with  this  our  realm,  according  to  your  wisdoms,  con- 
sciences and  discretions. 

[IX.]  Willing  and  commanding  you  or  six  of  you  [quorum  as 
before]  from  time  to  time  hereafter  to  use  and  devise  all  such 
politic  ways  and  means  for  the  trial  and  searching  out  of  all  the 
premises,  as  by  you  or  six  of  you,  as  aforesaid,  shall  be  thought 
most  expedient  and  necessary ;  and  upon  due  proof  had,  and  the 
offence  or  offences  before  specified,  or  any  of  them,  sufficiently 
proved  against  any  person  or  persons  by  confession  of  the  party 
or  by  lawful  witnesses  or  by  any  due  mean  before  you  or  six  of  you 
[quorum  as  before],  that  then  you  or  six  of  you,  as  aforesaid,  shall 
have  full  power  and  authority  to  award  such  punishment  to  every 


Establishment  of  Court  of  High  Commission     313 

offender  by  fine,  imprisonment  or  otherwise,  by  all  or  any  of  the 
ways  aforesaid,  and  to  take  such  order  for  the  redress  of  the  same, 
as  to  your  wisdoms  and  discretions  [shall  be  thought  meet  and 
convenient]. 

[X.]  [And  further  we  do  give  full  power  and  authority  unto 
you]  or  six  of  you  [quorum  as  before]  to  call  before  you  or 
six  of  you  as  aforesaid  from  time  to  time  all  and  every  offender 
or  offenders,  and  such  as  [to]  you  or  six  of  you,  as  aforesaid, 
shall  seem  to  be  suspect  persons  in  any  of  the  premises;  and 
also  all  such  witnesses  as  you  or  six  of  you,  as  aforesaid,  shall 
think  [meet]  to  be  called  before  you  or  six  of  you  as  aforesaid 
and  them  and  every  of  them  to  examine  upon  their  corporal  oath, 
for  the  better  trial  and  opening  of  the  premises  or  any  part 
thereof. 

[XL]  And  if  you  or  six  of  you,  as  aforesaid,  shall  find  any 
person  or  persons  obstinate  or  disobedient  either  in  their  [appear- 
ance] before  you  or  six  of  you  as  aforesaid  at  your  calling  or 
commandment  or  else  not  accomplishing  or  not  obeying  your 
order,  decrees  and  commandments  in  anything  touching  the 
premises  or  any  part  thereof;  that  then  you,  or  six  of  you,  as 
aforesaid,  shall  have  full  power  and  authority  to  commit  the  same 
person  or  persons  so  offending  to  ward,  there  to  remain  until  he 
or  they  shall  be  by  you  or  six  of  you,  as  aforesaid,  enlarged  and 
delivered. 

[XII.]  And  further  we  do  give  unto  you  and  six  of  you 
[quorum  as  before]  full  power  and  authority  to  take  and  receive 
by  your  discretions  of  every  offender  or  suspect  person  to  be 
convented  or  brought  before  you  a  recognizance  or  recognizances, 
obligation  or  obligations  to  our  use,  in  such  sum  or  sums  of 
money  as  to  you  or  six  of  you,  as  aforesaid,  shall  seem  convenient, 
as  well  for  their  personal  appearance  before  you  or  six  of  you,  as 
aforesaid,  as  also  for  the  performance  and  accomplishment  of 
your  orders  and  decrees,  in  case  you  or  six  of  you,  as  aforesaid, 
shall  see  it  so  convenient. 

[XIII.]  And  further,  our  will  and  pleasure  is  that  you  shall 
appoint  our  trusty  and  well -beloved  John  Skinner  to  be  your 
register  of  all  your  acts,  decrees  and  proceedings  by  virtue  of  this 
commission,  and  in  his  default  one  other  sufficient  person,  and 
that  you  or  six  of  you,  as  aforesaid,  shall  give  such  allowance  to 
the  same  register  for  his  pains  and  his  clerks,  to  be  levied  of  the 
fines  and  other  profits  that  shall  rise  by  force  of  this  commission 
and  your  doings  in  the  premises,  as  to  your  discretions  shall  be 
thought  meet. 


314  English  Constitutional  Documents 

[XIV.]  And  further,  our  will  and  pleasure  is  that  you  or  six  of 
you,  as  aforesaid,  shall  name  and  appoint  one  other  sufficient 
person  to  gather  up  and  receive  all  such  sums  of  money  as  shall 
be  assessed  and  taxed  by  you  or  six  of  you  as  aforesaid,  for  any 
fine  or  fines  upon  any  person  or  persons  for  their  offences :  and 
that  you  or  six  of  you,  as  aforesaid,  by  bill  or  bills  signed  with 
your  hands,  shall  and  may  assign  and  appoint  as  well  to  the  said 
person  for  his  pains  in  recovering  the  said  sums,  as  also  to  your 
messengers  and  attendants  upon  you  for  their  travail,  pains  and 
charges  to  be  sustained  for  or  about  the  premises  or  any  part 
thereof,  such  sums  of  money  for  their  rewards,  as  by  you  or  six 
of  you,  as  aforesaid,  shall  be  thought  expedient :  willing  and 
commanding  you  or  six  of  you,  as  aforesaid,  after  the  time  this 
our  commission  expired,  to  certify  into  our  court  of  exchequer  as 
well  the  name  of  the  said  receiver  as  also  a  note  of  such  fines  as 
shall  be  set  or  taxed  before  you ;  to  the  intent  that,  upon  the 
determination  of  account  of  the  said  receiver,  we  be  assured  of 
that,  that  to  us  shall  justly  appertain :  willing  and  commanding 
also  our  auditors  and  other  officers,  upon  the  sight  of  the  said 
bills  signed  with  the  hand  of  you  or  six  of  you,  as  aforesaid,  to 
make  unto  the  said  receiver  due  allowances  according  to  the  said 
bills  upon  his  accounts. 

[XV.]  Wherefore  we  will  and  command  you,  our  commis- 
sioners, with  diligence  to  execute  the  premises  with  effect ;  any 
of  our  laws,  statutes,  proclamations  or  other  grants,  privileges  or 
ordinances,  which  be  or  may  seem  to  be  contrary  to  the  premises, 
notwithstanding. 

[XVL]  And  more,  we  will  and  command  all  and  singular  jus- 
tices of  the  peace,  mayors,  sheriffs,  bailiffs,  constables  and  other 
our  officers,  ministers  and  faithful  subjects,  to  be  aiding,  helping 
and  assisting,  and  at  your  commandment  in  the  due  execution 
hereof,  as  they  tender  our  pleasure,  and  will  answer  to  the  con- 
trary at  their  utmost  perils. 

[XVII.]  And  we  will  and  grant  that  these  our  letters  patents 
shall  be  a  sufficient  warrant  and  discharge  for  you  and  every  of 
you  against  us,  our  heirs  and  successors,  and  all  and  every  other 
person  or  persons  whatsoever  they  be,  of  and  for  or  concerning 
the  premises  or  any  parcel  hereof,  of  or  for  the  execution  of  this 
our  commission  or  any  part  thereof. 

Witness  the  Queen  at  Westminster,  the  19th  day  of  July. 

PER  JPSAM  REGINAM, 


Ordinance  for  the  Censorship  of  the  Press     315 

173.     Ordinance  of  the  Star  Chamber  for  the 
Censorship  of  the  Press 

(1566.     Prothero,  168,  169.) 

I.  THAT  no  person  should  print  *  *  *  or  bring  *  *  *  into 
the  realm  printed  any  book  against  the  force  and  meaning  of  any 
ordinance  *  *  *  contained  in  any   the  statutes  or  laws  of  this 
realm  or  in  any  injunctions,  letters  patents  or  ordinances  set  forth 
by  the  Queen's  authority. 

II.  That  whosoever  should  offend  against  the  said  ordinances 
should  forfeit  all  such  books,  and  from  thenceforth  should  never 
exercise  *  *  *  the  feat  of  printing ;  and  to  sustain  three  months' 
imprisonment. 

III.  That  no  person  should  sell,  bind  or  sew  any  such  books, 
upon  pain  to  forfeit  all  such  books  and  for  every  book  2os. 

IV.  That  all  books  so  forfeited  should  be  brought  into  Sta- 
tioners' Hall,  *  *  *  and  all  the  books  so  to  be  forfeited  to  be 
destroyed  or  made  waste  paper. 

V.  That  it  should  be  lawful  for  the  wardens  of  the  [Stationers'] 
Company  *  *  *  to  make  search  in  all  workhouses,  shops  *  *  * 
and  other  places  of  printers,  booksellers  and  such  as  bring  books 
into  the  realm  *  *  *    ;  and  all  books  to  be  found  against  the  said 
ordinances  to  seise  and  carry  to  the  Hall  to  the  uses  above  said 
and  to  bring  the  persons  offending  before  the  Queen's  Commis- 
sioners in  causes  ecclesiastical. 

VI.  Every  stationer,  printer,  bookseller  *  *  *  should  *  *  * 
enter  into  several  recognizances  of  reasonable  sums  of  money  to 
her  Majesty   *  *  *  -that  he   should  truly  observe    all  the   said 
ordinances  *  *  * 

Upon  the  consideration  before  expressed  and  upon  the  motion 
of  the  Commissioners,  we  of  the  Privy  Council  have  agreed  this 
to  be  observed  and  kept  *  *  *  At  the  Star-Chamber  the  zgih  of 
June  5,  1566  *  *  * 

N.  BACOX,  C.S.        WINCHESTER.      R.  LEICESTER.       E.  CLYNTON. 
E.  ROGERS.  F.  KNOLLYS.        AMUR.  CAVE.        W.  CECYL. 

We  underwrit  think  these  ordinances  meet  and  necessary  to  be 
decreed  and  observed. 

MATTHUE  CANTOAR.          AMBR.  CAVE.  THO.  YALE. 

EDM.  LONDON.  DAVID  LEWIS.  ROB.  WESTON. 

T.  HUYCKE. 


316  English  Constitutional   Documents 

174.     Act  against  bringing  Decrees  of  the 
Pope  into  England 

(1571.    13  Elizabeth,  c.  2.     Prothero,  60-63.) 

WHERE  in  the  parliament  holden  at  Westminster,  in  the  fifth 
year  of  the  reign  of  our  Sovereign  Lady  the  Queen's  Majesty 
that  now  is,  by  one  Act  and  Statute  then  and  there  made,  entitled, 
An  Act  for  the  assurance  of  the  Queen's  Majesty's  Royal  Power 
[&c.]  it  is  among  other  things  very  well  ordained  and  provided, 
for  the  abolishing  of  the  usurped  power  and  jurisdiction  of  the 
Bishop  of  Rome  *  *  *  That  no  person  shall  *  *  *  maintain, 
defend,  or  extol  the  same  usurped  power,  or  attribute  any  manner 
jurisdiction,  authority  or  preeminence  to  the  same  to  be  used 
within  this  realm  *  *  *  upon  pain  to  incur  the  penalties  provided 
by  the  Statute  of  Provision  and  Prsemunire  *  *  *  :  and  yet  never- 
theless, divers  seditious  and  very  evil-disposed  people  *  *  *  mind- 
ing, as  it  should  seem,  very  seditiously  and  unnaturally,  not  only 
to  bring  this  realm  and  the  imperial  crown  thereof  (being  in  very 
deed  of  itself  most  free)  into  the  thraldom  and  subjection  of  that 
foreign,  usurped,  and  unlawful  jurisdiction  [&c.]  claimed  by  the 
said  see  of  Rome  ;  but  also  to  estrange  and  alienate  the  minds 
and  hearts  of  sundry  her  Majesty's  subjects  from  their  dutiful 
obedience,  and  to  raise  and  stir  sedition  and  rebellion  within  this 
realm  *  *  *  have  lately  procured  and  obtained  to  themselves  from 
the  said  Bishop  of  Rome  and  his  said  see,  divers  bulls  and  writings, 
the  effect  whereof  hath  been  and  is  to  absolve  and  reconcile  all 
those  that  will  be  contented  to  forsake  their  due  obedience  to  our 
most  gracious  Sovereign  Lady  the  Queen's  Majesty,  and  to  yield 
and  subject  themselves  to  the  said  feigned,  unlawful  and  usurped 
authority  ;  and  by  colour  of  the  said  bulls  and  writings,  the  said 
wicked  persons  very  secretly  and  most  seditiously,  in  such  parts 
of  this  realm  where  the  people  for  want  of  good  instruction  are 
most  weak,  simple  and  ignorant,  and  thereby  farthest  from  the 
good  understanding  of  their  duties  towards  God  and  the  Queen's 
Majesty,  have  by  their  lewd  and  subtle  practices  and  persuasions, 
so  far  forth  wrought,  that  sundry  simple  and  ignorant  persons  have 
been  contented  to  be  reconciled  to  the  said  usurped  authority  of 
the  see  of  Rome,  and  to  take  absolution  at  the  hands  of  the  said 
naughty  and  subtle  practisers,  whereby  hath  grown  great  disobe- 
dience and  boldness  in  many,  not  only  to  withdraw  and  absent 
themselves  from  all  divine  service  *  *  *  but  also  have  thought 


Act  concerning  Decrees  of  the  Pope         317 

themselves  discharged  of  all  obedience  to  her  Majesty,  whereby 
most  wicked  and  unnatural  rebellion  hath  ensued,  and  to  the  fur- 
ther danger  of  this  realm  is  hereafter  very  like  to  be  renewed,  if 
the  ungodly  and  wicked  attempts  in  that  behalf  be  not  by  severity 
of  laws  in  time  restrained  and  bridled  :  For  remedy  and  redress 
whereof,  and  to  prevent  the  great  mischiefs  and  inconveniences 
that  thereby  may  ensue,  be  it  enacted  *  *  *  that  if  any  person, 
after  the  first  day  of  July  next  coming,  shall  use  or  put  in  use  in 
any  place  within  this  realm  *  *  *  any  such  bull,  writing,  or  instru- 
ment *  *  *  of  absolution  or  reconciliation  *  *  *  or  if  any  person 
after  the  said  first  day  of  July  shall  take  upon  him,  by  colour  of 
any  such  bull  *  *  *  or  authority,  to  absolve  or  reconcile  any  per- 
son *  *  *  or  if  any  person  within  this  realm,  *  *  *  after  the  said 
first  day  of  July,  shall  willingly  receive  any  such  absolution  or 
reconciliation  ;  or  else,  if  any  person  have  obtained  since  the  last 
day  of  the  parliament  holden  in  the  first  year  of  the  Queen's 
Majesty's  reign,  or  after  the  said  first  day  of  July  shall  obtain  from 
the  said  Bishop  of  Rome  *  *  *  any  manner  of  bull  *  *  *  or  in- 
strument *  *  *  or  shall  publish  or  by  any  ways  or  means  put  in  use 
any  such  bull  *  *  *  that  then  every  such  act  *  *  *  shall  be 
deemed  by  the  authority  of  this  Act  to  be  high  treason,  and  the 
offenders  therein,  their  procurers  [&c.]  *  *  *  shall  be  deemed 
high  traitors  to  the  Queen  and  the  realm  ;  and  being  thereof  law- 
fully indicted  and  attainted  according  to  the  course  of  the  laws  of 
this  realm,  shall  suffer  pains  of  death,  and  also  forfeit  all  their 
lands  [&c.]  as  in  cases  of  high  treason  by  the  laws  of  this  realm 
ought  to  be  forfeited. 

IV.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  that  all  aiders  [&c.]  of  any  the 
said  offenders,  after  the  committing  of  any  the  said  acts  *  *  *  shall 
incur  the  penalties  contained  in  the  Statute  of  Praemunire  *  *  * 

V.  Provided  always  *  *  *  that  if  any  person   to  whom   any 
such  absolution  *  *  *  or  instrument  as  is  aforesaid  shall,  after  the 
said  first  day  of  July,  be  offered  *  *  *  shall  conceal  the  same  *  *  * 
and  not  disclose  and  signify  the  same  *  *  *  within  six  weeks  then 
next  following,  to  some  of  the  Queen's  Majesty's  Privy  Council, 
or  else  to  the  President  or  Vice  President  of  the  Queen's  Majesty's 
Council  established  in  the  north  parts,  or  in  the  marches  of  Wales 
*  *  *  that  then  the  same  person  so  concealing  *  *  *  the  said 
offer  *  *  *  shall  incur  the  penalty  of  misprision  of  high  treason. 


VII.   And  be  it  further  enacted,  that  if  any  person  shall  at  any 
time  after  the  said  first  day  of  July  bring  into  this  realm  of  Eng- 


318  English  Constitutional  Documents 

land  *  *  *  any  *  *  *  thing  called  by  the  name  of  an  Agnus  Dei, 
or  any  crosses,  pictures,  beads  or  such-like  vain  and  superstitious 
things,  from  the  Bishop  or  see  of  Rome,  *  *  *  and  that  if  the  same 
person  so  bringing  in  as  is  aforesaid  such  Agnus  Dei  and  other  like 
things,  as  be  before  specified,  shall  deliver  *  *  *  the  same  to  any 
subject  of  this  realm  *  *  *  to  be  worn  or  used  in  any  wise  :  that 
then  as  well  the  same  person  so  doing,  as  also  every  other  person 
which  shall  receive  the  same,  to  the  intent  to  use  or  wear  the  same, 
being  thereof  lawfully  convicted  and  attainted  by  the  order  of 
the  common  laws  of  this  realm,  shall  incur  the  penalties  *  *  * 
ordained  by  the  Statute  of  Praemunire  and  Provision  *  *  * 


IX.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  that  all  persons  which  at  any 
time  since  the  beginning  of  the  first  year  of  the  Queen's  Majesty's 
reign  have  brought  *  *  *  into  this  realm  any  such  bulls  [&c.J  *  *  * 
and  now  have  any  of  the  same  bulls  [&c.]  in  their  custody,  and 
shall  within  the  space  of  three  months  next  after  the  end  of  any 
session  or  dissolution  of  this  present  parliament  deliver  all  such 
bulls  [&c.]  *  *  *  to  the  bishop  of  the  diocese  where  such  absolu- 
tion hath  been  given  and  received  *  *  *  and  shall  publicly  before 
such  bishop  confess  their  offence  therein  and  humbly  desire 
to  be  restored  *  *  *  to  the  Church  of  England,  shall  be  clearly 
pardoned  and  discharged  of  all  offences  done  in  any  matter  con- 
cerning any  of  the  said  bulls  [&c.]  touching  such  absolution  or 
reconciliation  only ;  and  that  all  persons  which  have  received  any 
absolution  from  the  said  Bishop  of  Rome  *  *  *  since  the  said  first 
year  of  the  reign  of  our  said  Sovereign  Lady  the  Queen,  and  shall 
within  the  said  space  of  three  months  next  after  any  session  or 
dissolution  of  this  present  parliament,  come  before  the  bishop  of 
the  diocese  of  such  place  where  such  absolution  or  reconciliation 
was  had  or  made,  and  shall  publicly  before  the  same  bishop  confess 
*  *  *  their  offence  therein,  and  humbly  desire  to  be  restored,  and 
admitted  to  the  Church  of  England,  shall  be  clearly  pardoned  and 
discharged  of  all  offences  committed  in  any  matter  concerning  the 
said  bulls,  [&c.]  touching  only  receiving  such  absolution  or  recon- 
ciliation ;  *  *  * 


Commission  for  the  Manumission  of  Villeins     319 
175.    The  Oath  of  a  Privy  Councillor 

(1571.     Prothero,  165,  166.) 

V^OU  shall  swear  to  be  a  true  and  faithful  councillor  to  the  Queen's 
JL  Majesty  as  one  of  her  Highness's  Privy  Council  You  shall 
not  know  or  understand  of  any  manner  thing  to  be  attempted,  done 
or  spoken  against  her  Majesty's  person,  honour,  crown  or  dignity 
royal,  but  you  shall  let  and  withstand  the  same  to  the  uttermost 
of  your  power,  and  either  do  or  cause  it  to  be  forthwith  revealed 
either  to  her  Majesty's  self  or  to  the  rest  of  her  Privy  Council. 
You  shall  keep  secret  all  matters  committed  and  revealed  to  you 
as  her  Majesty's  councillor  or  that  shall  be  treated  of  secretly  in 
council.  And  if  any  of  the  same  treaties  or  counsels  shall  touch 
any  other  of  the  councillors,  you  shall  not  reveal  the  same  to  him, 
but  shall  keep  the  same  until  such  time  as  by  the  consent  of  her 
Majesty  or  of  the  rest  of  the  council  publication  shall  be  made 
thereof.  You  shall  not  let  to  give  true,  plain  and  faithful  counsel 
at  all  times,  without  respect  either  of  the  cause  or  of  the  person, 
laying  apart  all  favour,  meed,  affection  and  partiality.  And  you 
shall  to  your  uttermost  bear  faith  and  true  allegiance  to  the 
Queen's  Majesty,  her  heirs  and  lawful  successors,  and  shall  assist 
and  defend  all  jurisdictions,  preeminences  and  authorities  granted 
to  her  Majesty  and  annexed  to  her  crown,  against  all  foreign 
princes,  persons,  prelates  or  potentates,  whether  by  act  of  parlia- 
ment or  otherwise.  And  generally  in  all  things  you  shall  do  as  a 
faithful  and  true  councillor  ought  to  do  to  her  Majesty.  So  help 
you  God  and  the  holy  contents  of  this  book. 


176.    Commission  for  the  Manumission  of 
Villeins 

(1574.     Prothero,  173,  174.     Part  translated.) 

ELIZABETH,  by  the  grace  of  God,  &c.,  to  our  right  trusty  and 
well-beloved  counsellor  Sir  William  Cecil  *  *  *  and  to  our 
trusty  and  right  well-beloved  counsellor  Sir  Walter  Mildmay  *  *  * 
greeting.  Whereas  divers  and  sundry  of  our  poor  faithful  and 
loyal  subjects,  being  born  bond  in  blood  and  regardant  to  divers 
and  sundry  our  manors  and  possessions  within  our  realm  of  Eng- 
land, have  made  humble  suit  unto  us  to  be  manumised,  enfran- 


320  English  Constitutional  Documents 

chised  and  made  free,  with  their  children  and  sequels  *  *  *  We 
therefore  *  *  *  do  name  and  appoint  you  two  our  commissioners 

*  *  *  and  do  commit  *  *  *  unto  you  full  power  to  accept  *  *  * 
to  be  manumised,  enfranchised  and  made  free,  such  and  so  many 
of  our  bondmen  and  bondwomen  in  blood  with  all  their  children 
and  sequels,  their  goods,  lands,  tenements  and  hereditaments  as 
are  now  appertaining  or  regardant  to  any  of  our  manors,  lands 
[&c.]  within  the  said  several  counties  of  Cornwall,  Devon,  Somer- 
set and  Gloucester,  as  to  you  shall  seem  meet,  compounding  with 
them  for  such  reasonable  fines  or  sums  of  money  *  *  *  for  the 
manumission  *  *  *  as  you  and  they  can  agree  :  *  *  *  the  tenor  of 
which  said  manumissions  [&c.]  shall  be  in  such  order  and  form  as 
is  here  in  these  presents  contained  *  *  * 

"  Elizabeth,  by  the  grace  of  God  [&c.],  to  all  to  whom  [&c.] 
greeting.  Since  from  the  beginning  God  created  all  men  free  by 
nature,  while  afterward  the  law  of  nations  placed  some  under  the 
yoke  of  servitude,  we  believe  it  to  be  pious  and  acceptable  to  God 
and  in  accordance  with  Christian  charity  that  those  in  villeinage 
to  us,  our  heirs  and  successors,  subject  and  bound  in  servitude, 
should  be  wholly  free. 

"  Know  therefore  that  we,  moved  by  piety  *  *  *  have  manumitted 
and  made  free,  and  liberated  from  every  yoke  of  servitude  and 
servile  condition  A.  B.  C.  D.  &c.,  and  all  and  every  their  issue 
thus  begotten  and  to  be  begotten  in  the  future  and  every  one  of 
them  *  *  *  Also  we  give  and  *  *  *  concede  to  the  aforesaid  A. 
B.  C.  D.  &c.  messuages,  lands  [&c.],  and  also  goods,  chattels,  and 
whatsoever  is  owing  to  them  of  which  they  are  now  seised  and  pos- 
sessed *  *  *  to  have,  to  hold,  and  to  enjoy  *  *  *  forever  *  *  * 
without  rendering  to  us  thenceforward  account  of  any  sort  by  rea- 
son of  servitude  or  servile  condition  *  *  *  saving  to  us  nevertheless 

*  *  *  our  free-holds  and  the  hereditaments  of  the  customs,  lands, 
and  tenements  of  which  they  are  now  seised  *  *  *  by  copy-hold, 
and  the  services,  dues  [&c.]  to  be  rendered  and  done  for  them, 
as  well  as  the  dues  and  services  to  be  rendered  to  us  as  supreme 
lady  of  the  fief  for  any  free-hold  lands  [&c.]  of  which  they  are 
now  seised." 

*  *  *  And  our  further  will  and  pleasure  is  *  *  *  that  every  such 
bill  or  warrant  *  *  *  so  by  you  subscribed,  shall  be  a  sufficient  and 
immediate  warrant  to  the  said  lord  chancellor  *  *  *  for  the  making 
and  passing  of  every  such  manumission  *  *  *  under  our  great  seal 

*  *  *  paying  only  for  all  manner  of  fee  at  the  Great  Seal  265.  8d. 
Witness  ourself  at  Gorhambury  [April  3,  a.r.  16].     Per  ipsam 

reginam. 


The  Commission  of  a  Justice  of  the  Peace    321 


1 77.    The  Commission  of  a  Justice  of  the 
Peace 

(1579.    Prothero,  144-147.    Translated.) 

ELIZABETH,  by  the  grace  of  God  *  *  *  etc.,  to  our  well -beloved 
and  faithful  Edmund,  archbishop  of  Canterbury,  etc.  and  also 
to  our  well-beloved  Thomas  Bromley,  knight,  lord  chancellor,  and 
William,  Lord  Burghley,  treasurer,  Thomas  Wotton,  [and  others], 
greeting. 

[I.]  Know  ye  that  we  have  assigned  you,  jointly  and  severally, 
to  keep  our  peace,  and  also  the  statutes  and  ordinances  made  at 
Winchester,  Northampton,  and  Westminster  for  the  preservation 
of  the  same  peace ;  and  also  the  ordinances  made  there  and  at 
Cambridge  concerning  hunters,  labourers,  artificers,  servants,  inn- 
keepers, beggars  and  vagabonds,  and  the  begging  men  who  call 
themselves 'travailing  men' ;  and  likewise  the  statutes  and  ordinances 
made  at  Westminster  in  the  first  and  second  years  of  the  reign  of 
King  Henry  IV,  late  king  of  England,  concerning  the  knights, 
squires  and  varlets  with  liveries  bearing  the  signs  of  a  company 
or  with  liveries  of  cloth  or  any  liveries  of  any  kind  whatsoever :  and 
a  certain  other  statute  of  Henry  V,  late  king  etc.,  concerning  coun- 
terfeiting, washing,  clipping,  and  other  falsifying  of  the  money  of 
our  land :  and  to  keep  and  cause  to  be  kept  all  other  ordinances 
and  statutes  made  for  the  good  of  our  peace  and  the  quiet  rule 
and  government  of  our  people,  in  our  county  of  Kent,  as  well 
within  the  liberties  as  without,  according  to  the  force,  form,  and 
effect  of  the  same :  and  to  chastise  and  punish  all  those  found 
offending  against  the  form  of  the  aforesaid  ordinances  and  statutes, 
as  according  to  the  form  of  the  aforesaid  ordinances  and  statutes 
ought  to  be  done :  and  to  cause  to  come  before  you  all  those 
persons  who  shall  threaten  any  of  our  people  in  their  persons,  or 
in  burning  their  houses,  to  find  sufficient  security  to  keep  the 
peace  and  to  be  of  good  behaviour  towards  us  and  our  people, 
and  if  they  shall  refuse  to  find  such  security,  then  to  cause  them 
to  be  kept  safe  in  our  prisons  until  they  shall  find  such  security. 

[II.]  We  have  also  assigned  you  and  every  one  of  you  our 
justices  to  inquire  by  the  oath  of  good  and  lawful  men  of  the 
county  aforesaid,  through  whom  the  truth  may  be  better  known, 
of  all  manner  of  felonies,  trespasses,  forestallings,  regratings,  and 
extortions  in  the  aforesaid  county  by  whomsoever  and  howsoever 
done :  and  also  of  all  those  who  have  either  gone  or  ridden  in 

Y 


3 11          English  Constitutional  Documents 

companies  with  armed  force  against  our  peace  to  the  disturbance 
of  our  people  :  and  also  of  those  who  have  lain  in  wait  to  wound 
and  slay  our  people ;  and  also  of  all  those  who  have  used  head 
coverings  and  other  liveries  of  a  single  company,  by  agreement 
or  for  maintenance,  against  the  prohibition  and  form  of  the  afore- 
said statutes  and  ordinances  made  before  these  times,  and  of  others 
using  such  liveries  -in  the  future :  and  also  of  inn-keepers  and 
others  who  have  offended  or  have  attempted  to  offend  in  the  abuse 
of  weights  and  measures  and  in  the  sale  of  victuals ;  and  also  of 
any  labourers,  beggars,  artificers,  servants,  inn-keepers,  and  vaga- 
bonds, and  others  who  have  offended  or  attempted  to  offend  in 
the  said  county  against  the  form  of  the  ordinances  and  statutes 
aforesaid  made  concerning  hunters,  labourers  [etc.]  :  and  also  of 
those  sheriffs,  mayors,  bailiffs,  stewards,  constables,  and  gaolers 
who  in  the  execution  of  their  offices  have  unlawfully  demeaned 
themselves  according  to  the  form  of  the  aforesaid  ordinances  and 
statutes  made  against  such  artificers  [etc.]  or  have  been  careless, 
remiss,  or  negligent :  and  of  all  and  singular  the  articles  and  cir- 
cumstances and  other  premises  made  against  the  form  of  the  ordi- 
nances and  statutes  aforesaid. 

[III.]  And  to  inspect  all  indictments  whatsoever  as  well  those 
made  and  not  yet  determined  before  you  or  any  of  you,  or  before 
others,  the  former  guardians  of  the  peace  and  justices  of  Edward 
IV  and  Edward  V  late  kings  of  England,  and  Richard  III  late 
(de  facto  and  not  de  jure)  king  of  England,  and  Henry  VII,  late 
king  of  England,  Henry  VIII,  Edward  VI,  and  Mary,  [etc.] 
assigned  to  hear  and  to  determine  such  felonies,  trespasses,  and 
misdeeds  in  the  said  county,  as  well  as  those  made  before  you 
and  your  associates  now  guardians  of  our  peace,  and  before  our 
justices,  and  not  yet  determined,  and  to  proceed  thereupon  and 
to  make  and  continue  the  process  against  all  others  who  may  be 
indicted  before  you  or  any  of  you  until  they  be  apprehended, 
surrender  themselves,  or  be  outlawed. 

[IV.]  We  have  also  assigned  you,  *  *  *  etc.,  four,  three,  and 
two  of  you  (of  whom  we  wish  you,  A,  B,  C,  D,  etc.  to  be  one)  to 
be  our  justices  to  punish  and  chastise  according  to  the  law  and 
custom  aforesaid  and  the  form  of  the  ordinances  and  statutes 
aforesaid  the  aforesaid  felonies ;  and  all  and  each  of  the  offences 
by  inn-keepers  and  others  in  the  abuse  of  weights  and  measures 
and  in  the  sale  of  victuals,  and  by  labourers  [etc.]  against  the 
form  of  the  ordinances  and  statutes  aforesaid,  or  in  any  way  in- 
fringing them  :  and  to  hear  and  determine  the  aforesaid  extortions 
and  regratings  as  well  at  our  suit  as  at  that  of  any  whomsoever 


The  Commission  of  a  Justice  of  the  Peace     323 

wishing  to  complain  and  prosecute  in  such  cases  before  you  on 
behalf  of  us  and  of  themselves ;  and  also  trespasses  and  fore- 
stallings  aforesaid  and  all  other  things  not  formally  declared  to  be 
determined  at  our  suit  only  :  and  to  hear  and  determine  all  other 
cases  which  by  virtue  of  the  ordinances  and  statutes  aforesaid 
ought  to  be  investigated  and  determined  by  the  guardians  of  our 
peace  and  by  our  justices;  and  to  chastise  and  punish  those 
labourers,  artificers,  and  servants  for  their  offences  by  fines,  pay- 
ments, and  amercements  and  in  any  other  way  as  it  was  accus- 
tomed to  be  done  before  the  ordinance  made  concerning  the 
corporal  punishment  to  be  given  to  such  labourers  [etc.]  for  their 
offences ;  and  sheriffs,  mayors,  bailiffs,  stewards,  constables,  and 
gaolers,  hunters,  victualers,  inn-keepers,  beggars,  and  vagabonds 
according  to  the  form  of  the  ordinances  and  the  statutes  aforesaid. 

[V.]  Provided  always  that  if  a  case  of  difficulty  in  determining 
such  extortions,  etc.,  shall  happen  to  come  before  you,  except  it 
be  in  the  presence  of  one  of  our  justices  of  the  one  or  the  other 
bench  or  of  our  justices  of  assize  in  the  county  aforesaid,  as  little 
progress  as  possible  shall  be  made  in  your  court  towards  giving 
judgment. 

[VI.]  And  therefore  we  command  you  and  every  one  of  you 
that  you  diligently  concern  yourselves  with  the  keeping  of  the 
peace,  the  ordinances,  and  the  statutes  aforesaid ;  and  that  at 
certain  days  and  places  which  you  or  any  of  you  shall  fix  for  that 
purpose,  you  or  any  of  you  shall  make  diligent  inquisitions  con- 
cerning the  premises  :  and  that  you  shall  hear  and  determine  all 
and  singular  the  premises,  and  perform  and  fulfil  the  same  in  form 
aforesaid,  doing  therein  that  which  to  justice  appertaineth,  accord- 
ing to  the  law  and  custom  of  our  realm  of  England  :  saving  to  us 
the  amercements  and  other  things  to  us  thereof  belonging. 

[VII.]  And  we  have  commanded  our  sheriff  of  Kent  that  at 
certain  days  and  places  which  you  or  any  of  you  shall  make 
known  to  him,  he  shall  cause  to  come  before  you  or  any  of  you 
such  and  as  many  good  and  lawful  men  of  his  bailiwick  (as  well 
within  the  liberties  as  without)  through  whom  the  truth  in  the 
premises  may  be  the  better  known  and  investigated. 

[VIII.]  And  you  the  abovementioned  Thomas  Wotton,  shall 
cause  to  be  brought  before  you  and  your  said  fellows  at  the  said 
days  and  places,  the  writs,  precepts,  processes,  and  indictments 
aforesaid,  and  you  shall  inspect  them  and  by  a  due  course  deter- 
mine, as  aforesaid. 

In  witness  whereof,  &c.  Given  the  sixth  day  of  August,  in  the 
twenty-first  year  of  our  reign. 


324          English  Constitutional  Documents 
178.     The  Oath  of  a  Justice  of  the  Peace 

(1581.     Prothero,  149,  150.) 

YE  shall  swear  that,  as  justice  of  the  peace  in  the  county  of 
Kent,  in  all  articles  in  the  Queen's  Commission  to  you 
directed,  ye  shall  do  equal  right  to  the  poor  and  to  the  rich  after 
your  cunning,  wit  and  power,  and  after  the  laws  and  customs  of 
the  realm  and  statutes  thereof  made ;  and .  ye  shall  not  be  of 
counsel  with  any  quarrel  hanging  before  you ;  and  that  ye  hold 
your  sessions  after  the  form  of  statutes  thereof  made  and  the 
issues,  fines  and  amercements  that  shall  happen  to  be  made  and 
all  forfeitures  which  shall  fall  before  you  ye  shall  cause  to  be  en- 
tered without  any  concealment  or  embezzling  and  truly  send 
them  to  the  Queen's  exchequer.  Ye  shall  not  let  for  gift  or 
other  cause,  but  well  and  truly  ye  shall  do  your  office  of  justice 
of  the  peace  in  that  behalf,  and  that  you  take  nothing  for  your 
office  of  justice  of  the  peace  to  be  done,  but  of  the  Queen,  and 
fees  accustomed  and  costs  limited  by  the  statute ;  and  ye  shall 
not  direct  nor  cause  to  be  directed  any  warrant  (by  you  to  be 
made)  to  the  parties,  but  ye  shall  direct  them  to  the  bailiffs  of 
the  said  county  or  other  the  Queen's  officers  or  ministers,  or 
other  indifferent  persons  to  do  execution  thereof.  So  help  you 
God  and  by  the  contents  of  this  book. 


179.    Resolutions  on  the  Norfolk  Election  Case 

(1586.     Resolutions  of  the  House  of  Commons.    Prothero,  130.) 

FIRST,  That  the  first  writ  was  duly  executed  and  the  election 
good,  and  the  second  election  absolutely  void. 

Secondly,  That  it  was  a  most  perilous  precedent  that,  after 
two  knights  of  a  county  were  duly  elected,  any  new  writ  should 
issue  out  for  a  second  election  without  order  of  the  House  of 
Commons  itself. 

Thirdly,  That  the  discussing  and  adjudging  of  this  and  such 
like  differences  only  belonged  to  the  said  House. 

Fourthly,  That  though  the  Lord  Chancellor  and  Judges  were 
competent  judges  in  their  proper  courts,  yet  they  were  not  in 
parliament. 


Queen's  Message  with  Regard  to  Monopolies     325 

Fifthly,  That  it  should  be  entered  in  the  very  journal-book  of 
the  House  that  the  said  first  election  was  approved  to  be  good, 
and  the  said  knights  then  chosen  had  been  received  and  allowed 
as  members  of  the  House,  not  out  of  any  respect  the  said 
House  had  or  gave  to  the  resolution  of  the  Lord  Chancellor  and 
Judges  therein  passed,  but  merely  by  reason  of  the  resolution  of 
the  House  itself,  by  which  the  said  election  had  been  approved. 

Sixthly  and  lastly,  That  there  should  no  message  be  sent  to 
the  Lord  Chancellor,  not  so  much  as  to  know  what  he  had  done 
therein,  because  it  was  conceived  to  be  a  matter  derogatory  to  the 
power  and  privilege  of  the  said  House. 


1 80.  The  Queen's  Message  with  Regard  to 
Monopolies 

(1601.    November  25.     Message  brought  to  the  House  of  Commons  by  the 
Speaker.     Prothero,  116,  117.) 

TT  pleased  her  Majesty  to  command  me  to  attend  upon  her  yes- 
A  terday  in  the  afternoon,  from  whom  I  am  to  deliver  unto  you 
all  her  Majesty's  most  gracious  message,  sent  by  my  unworthy 
self.  *  *  *  It  pleased  her  Majesty  to  say  unto  me,  That  if  she  had 
an  hundred  tongues  she  could  not  express  our  hearty  good-wills. 
And  further  she  said,  That  as  she  had  ever  held  our  good  most 
dear,  so  the  last  day  of  our  or  her  life  should  witness  it ;  and 
that  if  the  least  of  her  subjects  were  grieved,  and  herself  not 
touched,  she  appealed  to  the  throne  of  Almighty  God,  how 
careful  she  hath  been,  and  will  be,  to  defend  her  people  from 
all  oppressions.  She  said,  That  partly  by  intimation  of  her 
council,  and  partly  by  divers  petitions  that  have  been  delivered 
unto  her  both  going  to  chapel  and  also  walking  abroad,  she 
understood  that  divers  patents,  that  she  had  granted,  were  griev- 
ous to  her  subjects ;  and  that  the  substitutes  of  the  patentees 
had  used  great  oppression.  But,  she  said,  she  never  assented  to 
grant  anything  which  was  malum  in  se.  And  if  in  the  abuse  of 
her  grant  there  be  anything  evil,  which  she  took  knowledge 
there  was,  she  herself  would  take  present  order  of  reformation 
thereof.  I  cannot  express  unto  you  the  apparent  indignation  of 
her  Majesty  towards  these  abuses.  She  said  her  kingly  preroga- 
tive was  tender ;  and  therefore  desireth  us  not  to  speak  or  doubt 
of  her  careful  reformation ;  for,  she  said,  her  commandment  given 


326          English  Constitutional  Documents 

a  little  before  the  late  troubles  (meaning  the  Earl  of  Essex's  mat- 
ters) by  the  unfortunate  event  of  them  was  not  so  hindered,  but 
that  since  that  time,  even  in  the  midst  of  her  most  great  and 
weighty  occasions,  she  thought  upon  them.  And  that  this  should 
not  suffice,  but  that  further  order  should  be  taken  presently,  and 
not  infuturo  (for  that  also  was  another  word  which  I  take  it  her 
Majesty  used),  and  that  some  should  be  presently  repealed,  some 
suspended,  and  none  put  in  execution  but  such  as  should  first 
have  a  trial  according  to  the  law  for  the  good  of  the  people. 
Against  the  abuses  her  wrath  was  so  incensed,  that  she  said,  that 
she  neither  could  nor  would  suffer  such  to  escape  with  impunity. 
So  to  my  unspeakable  comfort  she  hath  made  me  the  messenger 
of  this  her  gracious  thankfulness  and  care. 


1  8  1.    Act  of  Recognition  of  the  King's  Title 

(1604.    I  James  I,  c.  I.     Prothero,  250,  251.) 


manifold  were  the  benefits,  most  dread  and  most 
-J  gracious  Sovereign,  wherewith  Almighty  God  blessed  this  king- 
dom and  nation  by  the  happy  union  and  conjunction  of  the  two  noble 
houses  of  York  and  Lancaster,  thereby  preserving  this  noble  realm, 
formerly  torn  and  almost  wasted  with  long  and  miserable  dissen- 
sion and  bloody  civil  war  ;  but  more  inestimable  and  unspeakable 
blessings  are  thereby  poured  upon  us,  because  there  is  derived  and 
grown  from  and  out  of  that  union  of  those  two  princely  families,  a 
more  famous  and  greater  union,  or  rather  a  reuniting,  of  two  mighty, 
famous  and  ancient  kingdoms  (yet  anciently  but  one)  of  England 
and  Scotland,  under  one  imperial  crown,  in  your  most  royal  per- 
son  *  *  *  \ye  therefore,  your  most  humble  and  loyal  subjects,  the 
Lords  Spiritual  and  Temporal  and  the  Commons  in  this  present 
Parliament  assembled,  do  from  the  bottom  of  our  hearts  yield  to 
the  Divine  Majesty  all  humble  thanks  and  praises,  not  only  for  the 
said  unspeakable  and  inestimable  benefits  and  blessings  above 
mentioned,  but  also  that  he  hath  further  enriched  your  Highness 
with  a  most  royal  progeny,  of  most  rare  and  excellent  gifts  and 
forwardness,  and  in  his  goodness  is  likely  to  increase  the  happy 
number  of  them  :  and  in  most  humble  and  lowly  manner  do  be- 
seech your  most  excellent  Majesty,  that  (as  a  memorial  to  all  pos- 
terities, amongst  the  records  of  your  High  Court  of  Parliament  for 
ever  to  endure,  of  our  loyalty,  obedience  and  hearty  and  humble 


Commission  for  Negotiating  Union  with  Scotland  327 

affection),  it  may  be  published  and  declared  in  this  High  Court 
of  Parliament,  and  enacted  by  authority  of  the  same,  That  we 
(being  bounden  thereunto  both  by  the  laws  of  God  and  man)  do 
recognize  and  acknowledge  (and  thereby  express  our  unspeakable 
joys)  that  immediately  upon  the  dissolution  and  decease  of  Eliza- 
beth, late  Queen  of  England,  the  imperial  crown  of  the  realm  of 
England,  and  of  all  the  kingdoms,  dominions  and  rights  belonging 
to  the  same,  did,  by  inherent  birthright  and  lawful  and  undoubted 
succession,  descend  and  come  to  your  most  excellent  Majesty,  as 
being  lineally,  justly  and  lawfully  next  and  sole  heir  of  the  blood 
royal  of  this  realm  as  is  aforesaid ;  and  that  by  the  goodness  of 
God  Almighty  and  lawful  right  of  descent,  under  one  imperial 
crown,  your  Majesty  is  of  the  realms  and  kingdoms  of  England, 
Scotland,  France  and  Ireland,  the  most  potent  and  mighty 
King  *  *  * 

182.    Commission  for  Negotiating  a  Union  with 
Scotland 

(1604.    I  James  I.  c.  2.     Prothero,  251,  252.) 

WHEREAS  his  most  excellent  Majesty  hath  been  pleased,  out 
of  his  great  wisdom  and  judgment,  not  only  to  represent  unto 
us  by  his  own  prudent  and  princely  speech  on  the  first  day  of  this 
Parliament,  how  much  he  desired,  in  regard  of  his  inward  and  gra- 
cious affection  to  both  the  famous  and  ancient  realms  of  England  and 
Scotland,  now  united  in  allegiance  and  loyal  subjection  in  his  royal 
person  to  his  Majesty  and  his  posterities  for  ever,  that  by  a  speedy, 
mature  and  sound  deliberation  such  a  further  union  might  follow, 
as  should  make  perfect  that  mutual  love  and  uniformity  of  man- 
ners and  customs  which  Almighty  God  in  his  providence  for  the 
strength  and  safety  of  both  realms  hath  already  so  far  begun  in 
apparent  sight  of  all  the  world,  but  also  hath  vouchsafed  to  express 
many  ways  how  far  it  is  and  ever  shall  be  from  his  royal  and  sin- 
cere care  and  affection  to  the  subjects  of  England  to  alter  and 
innovate  the  fundamental  and  ancient  laws,  privileges  and  good 
customs  of  this  kingdom,  whereby  not  only  his  regal  authority  but 
the  people's  security  *  *  *  are  preserved  *  *  *  :  forasmuch  as 
his  Majesty's  humble,  faithful  and  loving  subjects  have  not  only  con- 
ceived the  weight  of  his  Majesty's  reasons,  but  apprehend  to  their 
unspeakable  joy  and  comfort  his  plain  *  *  *  intention  to  seek  no 
other  changes,  but  of  such  particular,  temporary  or  indifferent  man- 


328  English  Constitutional  Documents 

ner  of  statutes  and  customs  as  may  both  prevent  and  extinguish 
all  future  questions  or  unhappy  accidents,  by  which  the  *  *  * 
friendship  and  quietness  between  the  subjects  of  both  the  realms 
aforesaid  may  be  completed  and  confirmed,  and  also  accomplish 
that  real  and  effectual  union  already  inherent  in  his  Majesty's  royal 
blood  and  person  *  *  *  :  be  it  therefore  enacted  by  the  King's 
most  excellent  Majesty,  by  and  with  the  assent  and  consent  of  the 
Lords  Spiritual  and  Temporal  and  the  Commons  in  this  present 
Parliament  assembled,  and  by  authority  of  the  same,  That  Thomas, 
Lord  Ellesmere,  Lord  Chancellor  of  England  [and  43  others  named], 
commissioners  selected  and  nominated  by  authority  of  this  pres- 
ent Parliament,  or  any  eight  or  more  of  the  said  lords  of  the  said 
higher  house  and  any  twenty  or  more  of  the  said  knights,  citizens 
and  burgesses  of  the  said  house  of  the  commons,  shall  *  *  *  have 
full  power  *  *  *  before  the  next  session  of  this  Parliament, 
to  *  *  *  treat  and  consult  with  certain  selected  commissioners 
to  be  nominated  and  authorized  by  authority  of  Parliament  of  the 
realm  of  Scotland  *  *  *  concerning  such  an  union  of  the  said 
realms  of  England  and  Scotland  *  *  *  ;  which  commissioners  of 
both  the  said  realms  shall  *  *  *  reduce  their  doings  and  proceed- 
ings therein  into  writings  or  instruments,  *  *  *  that  thereupon 
such  further  proceedings  may  be  had  as  by  both  the  said  parlia- 
ments shall  be  thought  fit  and  necessary  for  the  weal  and  common 
good  of  both  the  said  realms. 


183.    Act  in  Shirley's  Case 

(1604.     I  James  I.  Private  Acts  c.  9.     Prothero,  324,  325.) 

HUMBLY  pray  the  Commons  of  this  present  parliament  that, 
whereas  Thomas  Shirley,  knight,  which  came  by  your  High- 
ness' commandment  to  this  your  present  parliament,  being  elected 
and  returned  a  burgess  for  the  borough  of  Steyning  in  your  High- 
ness' county  of  Sussex,  was  upon  the  i5th  day  of  March  last  past 
arrested  by  the  sheriff  of  London  at  the  suit  of  one  Giles  Simpson 
first  upon  an  action  of  debt,  and  afterwards  the  same  day  laid  and 
detained  in  execution  upon  a  recognizance,  of  the  nature  of  the 
statute  staple,  of  ^3000,  in  the  prison  commonly  called  the 
Compter  in  the  Poultry  in  London,  at  the  suit  of  the  said  Simpson, 
and  from  thence  by  Habeas  Corpus  was  removed  to  your  Majesty's 
prison  of  the  Fleet,  *  *  *  contrary  to  the  liberties,  privilege  and 


Opinions  of  the  Court  in  Bates'  Case       329 

freedom  accustomed  and  due  to  the  Commons  of  your  Highness" 
parliament,  who  have  ever  used  to  enjoy  the  freedom  of  coming 
to  and  returning  from  the  parliament  and  sitting  there  without 
restraint  or  molestation,  and  it  concemeth  your  Commons  greatly 
to  have  this  freedom  and  privilege  inviolably  observed ;  yet,  to 
the  end  that  no  person  be  prejudiced  or  damnified  hereby,  May 
it  please  your  Highness  by  the  assent  of  the  Lords  spiritual  and 
temporal  and  Commons  in  this  present  parliament  assembled,  and 
by  the  authority  of  the  same,  it  may  be  ordained  and  enacted, 
That  the  said  sheriff  of  London,  the  now  warden  of  the  Fleet,  and 
all  others  that  have  had  the  said  Thomas  in  custody  since  the  said 
first  arrest  *  *  *  may  not  nor  shall  in  any  wise  be  hurt,  endamaged 
or  grieved  because  of  dismissing  at  large  the  said  Thomas  Shirley : 
saving  always  to  the  said  Giles  Simpson  and  other  the  persons 
before  said,  at  whose  suit  the  said  Thomas  is  detained  in  prison, 
their  executions  and  suits  at  all  times  after  the  end  of  this  present 
session  of  parliament  to  be  taken  out  and  prosecuted  as  if  the  said 
Thomas  had  never  been  arrested  or  taken  in  execution,  and  as  if 
such  actions  had  never  been  brought  or  sued  against  him ;  saving 
also  to  your  Majesty's  said  Commons  called  now  to  this  your  parlia- 
ment, and  their  successors,  their  whole  liberties,  franchises  and 
privileges  in  all  ample  form  and  manner,  as  your  Highness'  said 
Commons  at  any  time  before  this  day  have  had,  used  and  enjoyed 
and  ought  to  have,  use  and  enjoy,  this  present  act  and  petition  in 
any  wise  notwithstanding. 


184.    Opinions  of  the  Court  of  Exchequer  in 
Bates'   Case 

(1606.     II  State  Trials,  30-32.     Prothero,  340-342.) 

[Baron  Clarkc~\  *  *  *  It  seemeth  to  me  strange  that  any  sub- 
jects would  contend  with  the  King  in  this  high  point  of  preroga- 
tive ;  but  such  is  the  King's  grace  that  he  has  showed  his  intent 
to  be,  that  this  matter  shall  be  disputed  and  adjudged  by  us 
according  to  the  ancient  law  and  custom  of  the  realm.  *  *  .*  As  it 
is  not  a  kingdom  without  subjects  and  government,  so  he  is  not  a 
king  without  revenues.  *  *  *  The  revenue  of  the  crown  is  the 
very  essential  part  of  the  crown,  and  he  who  rendeth  that  from  the 
King  pulleth  also  his  crown  from  his  head,  for  it  cannot  be  sepa- 
rated from  the  crown.  And  such  great  prerogatives  of  the  crown, 


330          English  Constitutional  Documents 

without  which  it  cannot  be,  ought  not  to  be  disputed ;  and  in  these 
cases  of  prerogative  the  judgment  shall  not  be  according  to  the 
rules  of  the  common  law,  but  according  to  the  precedents  of  this 
court,  wherein  these  matters  are  disputable  and  determinable.  *  *  * 

True  it  is  that  the  weal  of  the  King  is  the  public  weal  of  the 
people,  and  he  for  his  pleasure  may  afforest  the  wood  of  any  sub- 
ject, and  he  thereby  shall  be  subject  to  the  law  of  the  forest ;  and 
he  may  take  the  provision  of  any  man  by  his  purveyor  for  his  own 
use,  but  at  reasonable  prices  and  without  abuse,  the  abuse  of 
which  officer  hath  been  restrained  by  divers  statutes;  and  the 
King  may  take  wines  for  his  provision,  and  also  timber  for  his 
ships,  castles  or  houses  in  the  wood  of  any  man,  and  this  is  for 
public  benefit :  and  the  King  may  alloy  or  enhance  coin  at  his 
pleasure,  for  the  plenty  of  the  king  is  the  people's  peace.  *  *  * 

The  Statute  of  the  45  Edw.  Ill,  Cap.  4,  which  hath  been  so 
much  urged,  that  no  new  imposition  shall  be  imposed  upon  wool- 
fells,  wool  or  leather  but  only  the  custom  and  subsidy  granted  to 
the  King  —  this  extends  only  to  the  King  himself  and  shall  not 
bind  his  successors,  for  it  is  a  principal  part  of  the  Crown  of  Eng- 
land which  the  King  cannot  diminish.  And  the  same  King,  in  the 
24th  of  his  reign,  granted  divers  exemptions  to  certain  persons, 
and  because  that  it  was  in  derogation  of  his  state  imperial,  he  him- 
self recalled  and  annulled  the  same  *  *  * 

All  the  ports  of  the  realm  belong  to  the  King.  *  *  *  The  writ 
of  ne  exeat  regno  comprehends  a  prohibition  to  him  to  whom  it  is 
directed  that  he  shall  not  go  beyond  the  seas,  and  this  may  be 
directed  at  the  King's  pleasure  to  any  man  who  is  his  subject ; 
and  so  consequently  may  he  prohibit  all  merchants.  And  as  he 
may  prohibit  the  persons,  so  may  he  the  goods  of  any  man,  viz. 
that  he  shall  export  or  import  at  his  pleasure.  And  if  the  King 
may  generally  inhibit  that  such  goods  shall  not  be  imported,  then 
by  the  same  reason  may  he  prohibit  them  upon  condition  or  sub 
modo,  viz.  that  if  they  import  such  goods,  that  then  they  shall  pay, 
&c.  *  *  * 

[  Chief  Baron  Fleming^  The  King's  power  is  double,  ordinary 
and  absolute,  and  they  have  several  laws  and  ends.  That  of  the 
ordinary  is  for  the  profit  of  particular  subjects,  for  the  execution 
of  civil  justice,  the  determining  of  meum  ;  and  this  is  exercised 
by  equity  and  justice  in  ordinary  courts,  and  by  the  civilians  is 
nominated  jus  privatum,  and  with  us  common  law;  and  these  laws 
cannot  be  changed  without  parliament;  and  although  that  their 
form  and  course  may  be  changed  and  interrupted,  yet  they  can 
never  be  changed  in  substance.  The  absolute  power  of  the  King 


Opinions  of  the  Court  in  Bates'  Case       331 

K  not  that  which  is  converted  or  executed  to  private  use,  to  the 
benefit  of  any  particular  person,  but  is  only  that  which  is  applied 
to  the  general  benefit  of  the  people,  and  is  salus  populi;  as  the 
people  is  the  body,  and  the  King  the  head;  and  this  power  is 
[not]  guided  by  the  rules  which  direct  only  at  the  common  law, 
and  is  most  properly  named  policy  and  government ;  and  as  the 
constitution  of  this  body  varieth  with  the  time,  so  varieth  this 
absolute  law,  according  to  the  wisdom  of  the  King,  for  the  com- 
mon good ;  and  these  being  general  rules,  and  true  as  they  are, 
all  things  done  within  these  rules  are  lawful.  The  matter  in  ques- 
tion is  material  matter  of  state,  and  ought  to  be  ruled  by  the  rules 
of  policy,  and  if  it  be  so,  the  King  hath  done  well  to  execute  his 
extraordinary  power. 

All  customs,  be  they  old  or  new,  are  no  other  but  the  effects  and 
issues  of  trades  and  commerce  with  foreign  nations ;  but  all  com- 
merce and  affairs  with  foreigners,  all  wars  and  peace,  all  accept- 
ance and  admitting  for  current  foreign  coin,  all  parties  and 
treaties  whatsoever  are  made  by  the  absolute  power  of  the  King : 
and  he  who  hath  power  of  causes  hath  power  also  of  effects.  *  *  * 

It  is  said  that  an  imposition  may  not  be  upon  a  subject  without 
parliament.  That  the  King  may  impose  upon  a  subject,  I  omit, 
for  it  is  not  here  the  question  if  the  King  may  impose  upon  the 
subject  or  his  goods.  But  the  impost  here  is  not  upon  a  subject, 
but  here  it  is  upon  Bates,  as  upon  a  merchant  who  imports  goods 
within  the  land,  charged  before  by  the  King;  and  at  the  time 
when  the  impost  was  imposed  upon  them,  they  were  the  goods  of 
the  Venetians  and  not  the  goods  of  a  subject,  nor  within  the  land ; 
*  *  *  and  so  all  the  arguments  which  were  made  for  the  subject 
fail.  *  *  * 

And  whereas  it  is  said,  that  if  the  King  may  impose,  he  may 
impose  any  quantity  that  he  pleases,  true  it  is  that  this  is  to  be 
referred  to  the  wisdom  of  the  King,  who  guideth  all  under  God  by 
his  wisdom,  and  this  is  not  to  be  disputed  by  a  subject ;  and  many 
things  are  left  to  his  wisdom  for  the  ordering  of  his  power  rather 
than  his  power  shall  be  restrained.  The  King  may  pardon  any 
felon :  but  it  may  be  objected  that  if  he  pardoned  one  felon,  he 
may  pardon  all,  to  the  damage  of  the  commonwealth ;  and  yet 
none  will  doubt  but  that  is  left  to  his  wisdom.  *  *  *  And  the 
wisdom  and  providence  of  the  King  is  not  to  be  disputed  by  the 
subject;  for  by  intendment  they  cannot  be  severed  from  his 
person,  and  to  argue  a  posse  ad  actum,  to  restrain  the  King  and 
his  power  because  that  by  his  power  he  may  do  ill,  is  no  argu- 
ment for  a  subject.  *  *  * 


332  English  Constitutional  Documents 

185.    The  Case  of  Prohibitions 

(1607.     12  Coke's  Reports,  63.) 

NOTE,  upon  Sunday  the  loth  of  November  in  this  same  term, 
the  king,  upon  complaint  made  to  him  by  Bancroft,  arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury,  concerning  prohibitions,  the  king  was  in- 
formed, that  when  the  question  was  made  of  what  matters  the 
ecclesiastical  judges  have  cognizance,  either  upon  the  exposition 
of  the  statutes  concerning  tithes,  or  any  other  thing  ecclesiastical, 
or  upon  the  statute  i  El.  concerning  the  high  commission,  or  in 
any  other  case  in  which  there  is  not  express  authority  in  law,  the 
king  himself  may  decide  it  in  his  royal  person ;  and  that  the 
judges  are  but  the  delegates  of  the  king,  and  that  the  king  may 
take  what  causes  he  shall  please  to  determine,  from  the  deter- 
mination of  the  judges,  and  may  determine  them  himself,  And 
the  archbishop  said,  that  this  was  clear  in  divinity,  that  such 
authority  belongs  to  the  king  by  the  word  of  God  in  the  Scripture 
To  which  it  was  answered  by  me,  in  the  presence,  and  with  the 
clear  consent  of  all  the  judges  of  England,  and  barons  of  the 
exchequer,  that  the  king  in  his  own  person  cannot  adjudge  any 
case,  either  criminal,  as  treason,  felony,  &c.  or  betwixt  party  and 
party,  concerning  his  inheritance,  chattels,  or  goods,  &c.,  but  this 
ought  to  be  determined  and  adjudged  in  some  court  of  justice, 
according  to  the  law  and  custom  of  England ;  and  always  judg- 
ments are  given,  idea  consideration  est  per  curiam,  so  that  the 
court  gives  the  judgment :  and  the  king  hath  his  court,  viz.  in 
the  upper  house  of  parliament,  in  which  he  with  his  lords  is 
the  supreme  judge  over  all  other  judges ;  for  if  error  be  in  the 
common  pleas,  that  may  be  reversed  in  the  king's  bench  :  and  if 
the  court  of  king's  bench  err,  that  may  be  reversed  in  the  upper 
house  of  parliament,  by  the  king,  with  the  assent  of  the  lords  spir- 
itual and  temporal,  without  the  commons  :  and  in  this  respect  the 
king  is  called  the  chief  justice,  20  H.  7.  ;a.  by  Brudnell :  and  it 
appears  in  our  books,  that  the  king  may  sit  in  the  star-chamber ; 
but  this  was  to  consult  with  the  justices,  upon  certain  questions 
proposed  to  them,  and  not  injudicio:  so  in  the  king's  bench  he 
may  sit,  but  the  court  gives  the  judgment :  and  it  is  commonly 
said  in  our  books,  that  the  king  is  always  present  in  court  in  the 
judgment  of  law ;  and  upon  this  he  cannot  be  nonsuit :  but  the 
judgments  are  always  given  per  curiam  ;  and  the  judges  are  sworn 
to  execute  justice  according  to  law  and  the  custom  of  England, 


The  Case  of  Prohibitions  333 

And  it  appears  by  the  act  of  parliament  of  2  Ed.  3.  cap.  9.  [2  Ed. 
3.  cap.  1.3  that  neither  by  the  great  seal,  nor  by  the  little  seal, 
justice  shall  be  delayed  :  ergo,  the  king  cannot  take  any  cause  out 
of  any  of  his  courts,  and  give  judgment  upon  it  himself,  but  in  his 
own  cause  he  may  stay  it,  as  it  doth  appear  1 1  H.  4.  8.  And  the 
judges  informed  the  king,  that  no  king  after  the  conquest  assumed 
to  himself,  to  give  any  judgment  in  any  cause  whatsoever,  which 
concerned  the  administration  of  justice  within  this  realm,  but  these 
were  solely  determined  in  the  courts  of  justice :  and  the  king 
cannot  arrest  any  man,  as  the  book  is  in  i  H.  7.  4.  for  the  party 
cannot  have  remedy  against  the  king;  so  if  the  ting  give  any 
judgment,  what  remedy  can  the  party  have.  Vide  39  Ed.  3.  14. 
one  who  had  a  judgment  reversed  before  the  council  of  state ;  it 
was  held  utterly  void,  for  that  it  was  not  a  place  where  judgment 
may  be  reversed.  Vide  i  H.  7.  4.  Hussey,  chief  justice,  who  was 
attorney  to  Ed.  4.,  reports  that  Sir  John  Markham,  chief  justice, 
said  to  King  Ed.  4.  that  the  king  cannot  arrest  a  man  for  suspi- 
cion of  treason  or  felony,  as  others  of  his  lieges  may  ;  for  that  if 
it  be  a  wrong  to  the  party  grieved,  he  can  have  no  remedy :  and 
it  was  greatly  marvelled  that  the  archbishop  durst  inform  the 
king,  that  such  absolute  power  and  authority,  as  is  aforesaid, 
belonged  to  the  king  by  the  word  of  God.  Vide  4  H.  4.  cap.  22. 
which  being  translated  into  Latin,  the  effect  ]s,judicia  in  curia 
regis  reddita  non  nihil  annihilentur,  sed  stet judicium  in  site  robore 
quousque  per  Judicium  curia  regis  tanquam  crrontvm,  6~r.  Vide 
West.  2.  cap.  j.  Vide  le  stat.  de  Marlbridge.  cap.  I.  Provisum 
esft  concor datum,  et  concessum,  quod  tarn  majores  quam  minores 
justitiam  habeant  et  recipiant  in  curia  domini  regis.  Et  vide  le  stat. 
de  Magna  Charta,  cap.  29.  25  Ed.  3.  cap.  j.  None  may  be 
taken  by  petition  or  suggestion  made  to  our  lord  the  king  or  his 
council,  unless  by  judgment :  and  43  Edw.  3.  cap.  3.  no  man  shall 
be  put  to  answer  without  presentment  before  the  justices,  matter 
of  record,  or  by  due  process,  or  by  writ  original,  according  to  the 
ancient  law  of  the  land :  and  if  anything  be  done  against  it,  it  shall 
be  void  in  law  and  held  for  error.  Vide  28  Edw.  3.  c.  3.  37  Edw. 
3.  cap.  1 8.  Vide  17  R.  2.  ex  rotulis  parliament!  in  Turn,  art.  JO. 
A  controversy  of  land  between  parties  was  heard  by  the  king,  and 
sentence  given,  which  was  repealed  for  this,  that  it  did  belong  to 
the  common  law :  then  the  king  said,  that  he  thought  the  law  was 
founded  upon  reason,  and  that  he  and  others  had  reason,  as  well 
as  the  judges :  to  which  it  was  answered  by  me,  that  true  it  was, 
that  God  had  endowed  his  Majesty  with  excellent  science,  and 
great  endowments  of  nature ;  but  his  Majesty  was  not  learned  in 


334          English  Constitutional  Documents 

the  laws  of  his  realm  of  England,  and  causes  which  concern  the 
life,  or  inheritance,  or  goods,  or  fortunes  of  his  subjects,  are  not 
to  be  decided  by  natural  reason  but  by  the  artificial  reason  and 
judgment  of  law,  which  law  is  an  act  which  requires  long  study  and 
experience,  before  that  a  man  can  attain  to  the  cognizance  of  it : 
and  that  the  law  was  the  golden  met-wand  and  measure  to  try  the 
causes  of  the  subjects  ;  and  which  protected  his  Majesty  in  safety 
and  peace  :  with  which  the  king  was  greatly  offended,  and  said, 
that  then  he  should  be  under  the  law,  which  was  treason  to  affirm, 
as  he  said ;  to  whom  I  said,  that  Bracton  saith,  quod  rex  non  debet 
esse  sub  homine,  sed  sub  Deo  et  lege. 


1 8 6.    Judgment  in  the  Case  of  the  Post-nati,  or 
Calvin's  Case 

(1608.     Judgment  of  Lord  Chancellor  Ellesmere.     II  State  Trials,  106. 
Prothero,  446.) 

*  *  *  nPHUS  I  have  here  delivered  my  concurrence  in  opinion 
-L  with  my  lords  the  judges,  and  the  reasons  that  induce 
and  satisfy  my  conscience  that  Ro.  Calvin,  and  all  the  post-nati 
in  Scotland,  are  in  reason  and  by  the  common  law  of  England 
natural-born  subjects  within  the  allegiance  of  the  King  of  England, 
and  enabled  to  purchase  and  have  freehold  and  inheritance  of 
lands  in  England  and  to  bring  real  actions  for  the  same  in  Eng- 
land. 


187.    The  Case  of  Proclamations 

(1610.     12  Coke's  Reports,  74.) 

MEMORANDUM,  that  upon  Thursday,  20  Sept.  8  Regis  Jacobi, 
I  was  sent  for  to  attend  the  lord  chancellor,  lord  treasurer, 
lord  privy  seal,  and  the  chancellor  of  the  duchy ;  there  being  pres- 
ent the  attorney,  the  solicitor,  and  recorder :  and  two  questions 
were  moved  to  me  by  the  lord  treasurer;  the  one  if  the  king  by 
his  proclamation  may  prohibit  new  buildings  in  and  about  London 
&c. ;  the  other,  if  the  king  may  prohibit  the  making  of  starch  of 
wheat ;  and  the  lord  treasurer  said,  that  these  were  preferred  to 
the  king  as  grievances,  and  against  the  law  and  justice  :  and  the 
king  hath  answered,  that  he  will  confer  with  his  privy  council, 


The  Case  of  Proclamations  335 

and  his  judges,  and  then  he  wffl  do  right  to  them.  To  which  I 
answered,  that  these  questions  were  of  great  importance.  2.  That 
they  concerned  the  answer  of  the  king  to  the  body,  riz.  to  the 
commons  of  the  house  of  parliament.  3.  That  I  did  not  hear  of 
these  questions  until  this  morning  at  nine  of  the  clock :  for  the 
grievances  were  preferred,  and  the  answer  made  when  I  was  in 
my  circuit.  And,  lastly,  both  the  proclamations,  which  now  were 
showed,  were  promulgated,  anno  5  Jac.t  after  my  time  of  attorney- 
ship  :  and  for  these  reasons  I  did  humble  des.ire  them  that  I  might 
have  conference  with  my  brethren  the  judges  about  the  answer 
of  the  king,  and  then  to  make  an  advised  answer  according  to  law 
and  reason.  To  which  the  lord  chancellor  said,  that  every  prece- 
dent had  first  a  commencement,  and  that  he  would  advise  the 
judges  to  maintain  the  power  "and  prerogative  of  the  king ;  and  in 
cases  in  which  there  is  no  authority  and  precedent,  to  leave  it  to 
the  king  to  order  in  it,  according  to  his  wisdom,  and  for  the  good 
of  his  subjects,  or  otherwise  the  king  would  be  no  more  than  the 
duke  of  Venice :  and  that  the  king  was  so  much  restrained  in  his 
prerogative,  that  it  was  to  be  feared  the  bonds  would  be  broken  : 
and  the  lord  privy  seal  said,  that  the  physician  was  not  always 
bound  to  a  precedent,  but  to  apply  his  medicine  according  to  the 
quality  of  the  disease:  and  all  concluded  that  it  should  be  neces- 
sary at  that  time  to  confirm  the  king's  prerogative  with  our  opin- 
ions, although  that  there  were  not  any  former  precedent  or 
authority  in  law :  for  every  precedent  ought  to  have  a  commence- 
ment. 

To  which  I  answered,  that  true  it  is  that  every  precedent  hath 
a  commencement ;  but  when  authority  and  precedent  is  wanting, 
there  is  need  of  great  consideration,  before  that  anything  of  novelty 
shall  be  established,  and  to  provide  that  this  be  not  against  the 
law  of  the  land  :  for  I  said,  that  the  king  cannot  change  any  part 
of  the  common  law,  nor  create  any  offence  by  his  proclamation, 
which  was  not  an  offence  before,  without  parliament  But  at  this 
time  I  only  desired  to  have  a  time  of  consideration  and  confer- 
ence with  my  brothers,  for  dtlibcrandum  est  diu,  quod  statuendum 
est  semel;  to  which  the  solicitor  said,  that  divers  sentences  were 
given  in  the  star  chamber  upon  the  proclamation  against  building ; 
and  that  I  myself  had  given  sentence  in  divers  cases  for  the  said 
proclamation :  to  which  I  answered,  that  precedents  were  to  be 
seen,  and  consideration  to  be  had  of  this  upon  conference  with 
my  brethren,  for  that  iruKus  est  recurrere,  quam  male  currere ; 
and  that  indictments  conclude,  contra  leges  et  statuta  ;  but  I  never 
heard  an  indictment  to  conclude,  contra  regiam  proclamationem. 


33  6          English  Constitutional  Documents 

At  last  my  motion  was  allowed ;  and  the  lords  appointed  the  two 
chief  justices,  chief  baron,  and  baron  Altham,  to  have  considera- 
tion of  it. 

Note,  the  king  by  his  proclamation  or  other  ways  cannot  change 
any  part  of  the  common  law,  or  statute  law,  or  the  customs  of  the 
realm,  n  Hen.  4.  37.  Fortescue  De  laudibus  Anglice  legum, 
cap.  9.  18  Edw.  3.  35,  36,  &c.  31  Hen.  8.  cap.  8.  hie  infra: 
also  the  king  cannot  create  any  offence  by  his  prohibition  or  proc- 
lamation, which  was  not  an  offence  before,  for  that  was  to  change 
the  law,  and  to  make  an  offence  which  was  not ;  for  ubi  non  est 
lex,  ibi  non  est  transgressio :  ergo,  that  which  cannot  be  punished 
without  proclamation,  cannot  be  punished  with  it.  Vide  le  stat. 
31  Hen.  8.  cap.  8.  which  act  gives  more  power  to  the  king  than 
he  had  before,  and  yet  there  it  is  declared  that  proclamations  shall 
not  alter  the  law,  statutes,  or  customs  of  the  realm,  or  impeach 
any  in  his  inheritance,  goods,  body,  life,  &c.  But  if  a  man  shall 
be  indicted  for  a  contempt  against  a  proclamation,  he  shall  be  fined 
and  imprisoned,  and  so  impeached  in  his  body  and  goods.  Vide 
Fortescue,  cap.  9,  18,  34,  36,  37,  &c. 

But  a  thing  which  is  punishable  by  the  law,  by  fine,  and  impris- 
onment, if  the  king  prohibit  it  by  his  proclamation,  before  that 
he  will  punish  it,  and  so  warn  his  subjects  of  the  peril  of  it,  there 
if  he  permit  it  after,  this  as  a  circumstance  aggravates  the  offence ; 
but  he  by  proclamation  cannot  make  a  thing  unlawful,  which  was 
permitted  by  the  law  before  :  and  this  was  well  proved  by  the 
ancient  and  continual  forms  of  indictments ;  for  all  indictments 
conclude  contra  legem  et  consuetudinem  Anglice,  or  contra  leges  et 
statuta,  &c.  But  never  was  seen  any  indictment  to-  conclude 
contra  regiam  proclamationem. 

So  in  all  cases  the  king  out  of  his  providence,  and  to  prevent 
dangers,  which  it  will  be  too  late  to  prevent  afterwards,  he  may 
prohibit  them  before,  which  will  aggravate  the  offence  if  it  be 
afterwards  committed  :  and  as  it  is  a  grand  prerogative  of  the 
king  to  make  proclamation,  (for  no  subject  can  make  it  without 
authority  from  the  king,  or  lawful  custom,)  upon  pain  of  fine  and 
imprisonment,  as  it  is  held  in  the  22  Hen.  8.  Proclamation  B. 
But  we  do  find  divers  precedents  of  proclamations  which  are 
utterly  against  law  and  reason,  and  for  that  void  ;  for  qua  contra 
rationem  juris  introducta  sunt  non  debent  trahi  in  consequentiam. 

An  act  which  was  made,  by  which  foreigners  were  licensed  to 
merchandise  within  London ;  Hen.  4.  by  proclamation  prohibited 
the  execution  of  it;  and  that  it  should  be  in  suspense  usque  ad 
proximum  parliament,  which  was  against  law.  Vide  dors,  claus 


Act  against  Monopolies  337 

8  Hen.  4.  Proclamation  in  London.  But  9  Hen.  4.  an  act  of  par- 
liament was  made,  that  all  the  Irish  people  should  depart  the  realm, 
and  go  into  Ireland  before  the  feast  of  the  Nativity  of  the  Blessed 
Lady,  upon  pain  of  death,  which  was  absolutely  in  terrorem,  and 
was  utterly  against  the  law. 

In  the  same  term  it  was  resolved  by  the  two  chief  justices,  chief 
baron  and  baron  Altham,  upon  conference  betwixt  the  lords  of 
the  privy  council  and  them,  that  the  king  by  his  proclamation 
cannot  create  any  offence  which  was  not  an  offence  before,  for 
then  he  may  alter  the  law  of  the  land  by  his  proclamation  in  a 
high  point  j  for  if  he  may  create  an  offence  where  none  is,  upon 
that  ensues  fine  and  imprisonment :  also  the  law  of  England  is 
divided  into  three  parts,  common  law,  statute  law,  and  custom  ; 
but  the  king's  proclamation  is  none  of  them  :  also  malum  aut  est 
malum  in  se,  aut  prohibitum,  that  which  is  against  common  law  is 
malum  in  se,  malum  prohibitum  is  such  an  offence  as  is  prohibited 
by  act  of  parliament,  and  not  by  proclamation. 

Also  it  was  resolved,  that  the  king  hath  no  prerogative,  but  that 
which  the  law  of  the  land  allows  him. 

Lastly,  if  the  offence  be  not  punishable  in  the  star-chamber, 
the  prohibition  of  it  by  proclamation  cannot  make  it  punishable 
there  :  and  after  this  resolution,  no  proclamation  imposing  fine 
and  imprisonment  was  afterwards  made,  &c. 


1 8 8.    Act  against  Monopolies 

(1624.     21  &  22  James  I.  c.  3.     Prothero,  275-277.) 

TJDRASMUCH  as  your  most  excellent  Majesty,  in  your  royal 
-T  judgment  and  of  your  blessed  disposition  to  the  weal  and 
quiet  of  your  subjects,  did  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  God,  1610, 
publish  in  print  to  the  whole  realm  and  to  all  posterity,  that  all 
grants  of  monopolies,  and  of  the  benefit  of  any  penal  laws,  or  of 
power  to  dispense  with  the  law,  or  to  compound  for  the  forfeiture, 
are  contrary  to  your  Majesty's  laws  ;  which  your  Majesty's  decla- 
ration is  truly  consonant  and  agreeable  to  the  ancient  and  fun- 
damental laws  of  this  your  realm  :  and  whereas  your  Majesty 
was  further  graciously  pleased  expressly  to  command,  that  no 
suitor  should  presume  to  move  your  Majesty  for  matters  of  that 
nature ;  yet  nevertheless,  upon  misinformations  and  untrue  pre- 


33  8  English  Constitutional  Documents 

tences  of  public  good,  many  such  grants  have  been  unduly 
obtained  and  unlawfully  put  in  execution,  to  the  great  grievance 
and  inconvenience  of  your  Majesty's  subjects,  contrary  to  the 
laws  of  this  your  realm  and  contrary  to  your  Majesty's  royal  and 
blessed  intention  so  published  as  aforesaid  :  for  avoiding  whereof 
and  preventing  of  the  like  in  time  to  come,  may  it  please  your 
most  excellent  Majesty  *  *  *  that  it  may  be  declared  and  enacted, 
and  be  it  declared  and  enacted  *  *  *  that  all  monopolies  and  all 
commissions,  grants,  licences,  charters  and  letters  patents  *  *  * 
to  any  person,  bodies  politic  or  corporate,  whatsoever,  for  the 
sole  buying,  selling,  making,  working  or  using  of  anything  within 
this  realm  or  the  dominion  of  Wales,  or  of  any  other  monopolies, 
or  of  power  to  dispense  with  any  others,  or  to  give  licence  or  tol- 
eration to  do  anything  against  the  tenor  of  any  law  or  statute,  or 
to  give  or  make  any  warrant  for  any  such  dispensation,  licence  or 
toleration,  *  *  *  or  to  agree  or  compound  with  any  others  for  any 
penalty  or  forfeitures  limited  by  any  statute,  or  of  any  grant  or 
promise  of  the  benefit  of  any  forfeiture,  penalty  or  sum  of  money 
that  shall  be  due  by  any  statute,  before  judgment  thereupon  had, 
and  all  proclamations,  inhibitions,  restraints,  warrants  of  assistance, 
and  all  other  things  whatsoever,  any  way  tending  to  the  instituting 
*  *  *  or  countenancing  of  the  same  *  *  *  ,  are  altogether  con- 
trary to  the  laws  of  this  realm,  and  so  are  and  shall  be  utterly  void 
and  of  none  effect.  *  *  * 

II.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  that  all  monopolies  and  all  such 
commissions,  grants  [&c.],  and  all  other  things  tending  as  afore- 
said *  *  *  ought  to  be  and  shall  be  for  ever  hereafter  *  *  * 
tried  and  determined  according  to  the  common  laws  of  this  realm, 
and  not  otherwise. 


V.  Provided  nevertheless,  *  *  *  that  any  declaration  before- 
mentioned  shall  not  extend  to  any  letters  patents  and  grants  of 
privilege  for  the  term  of  one  and  twenty  years  or  under,  hereto- 
fore made  of  the  sole  working  or  making  of  any  manner  of  new 
manufacture  within  this  realm  to  the  first  and  true  inventor  or 
inventors  of  such  manufactures,  which  others  at  the  time  -of  the 
making  of  such  letters  patents  and  grants  did  not  use,  so  they  be 
not  contrary  to  the  law,  nor  mischievous  to  the  state  by  raising  of 
the  prices  of  commodities  at  home  or  hurt  of  trade,  or  generally 
inconvenient,  but  that  the  same  shall  be  of  such  force  as  they 
were  or  should  be  if  this  Act  had  not  been  made.  *  *  * 


The  Petition  of  Right  339 

VI.  Provided  also,  and  be  it  enacted,  that  any  declaration 
beforementioned  shall  not  extend  to  any  letters  patents  and  grants 
of  privilege  for  the  term  of  fourteen  years  or  under,  hereafter  to 
be  made,  of  the  sole  working  or  making  of  any  manner  of  new 
manufactures  within  this  realm,  to  the  true  and  first  inventor  and 
inventors  of  such  manufactures  *  *  * 

IX.  Provided  also,  *  *  *  that  this  Act  *  *  *  shall  not  in  any 
wise  extend  or  be  prejudicial  unto  the  city  of  London  or  to  any 
city,  borough  or  town  corporate  within  this  realm,  for  any  grants, 
charters  or  letters  patents  to  them  *  *  *  granted,  or  for  any  cus- 
toms used  by  or  within  any  of  them,  or  unto  any  corporations, 
companies  or  fellowships  of  any  art,  trade,  occupation  or  mystery, 
or  to  any  companies  or  societies  of  merchants  within  this  realm 
erected  for  the  maintenance  *  *  *  of  any  trade  of  merchan- 
dise .  .  . 

X.-XTV.   [Various  special  exemptions.] 


189.    The  Petition  of  Right 

(1628,  June  7.     3  Charles  L  c.  I.    5  S.  Jt.  23.    Gardiner,  66-70.) 
To  the  King's  Most  Excellent  Majesty. 

HUMBLY  show  unto  our  Sovereign  Lord  the  King,  the  Lords 
Spiritual  and  Temporal,  and  Commons  in  Parliament  assem- 
bled, that  whereas  it  is  declared  and  enacted  by  a  statute  made  in 
the  time  of  the  reign  of  King  Edward  the  First,  commonly  called 
Statutum  de  tallagio  non  conccdcndo,  that  no  tallage  or  aid  shall 
be  laid  or  levied  by  the  King  or  his  heirs  in  this  realm,  without 
the  good  will  and  assent  of  the  Archbishops,  Bishops,  Earls,  Barons, 
Knights,  Burgesses,  and  other  the  freemen  of  the  commonalty  of 
this  realm  :  and  by  authority  of  Parliament  holden  in  the  five  and 
twentieth  year  of  the  reign  of  King  Edward  the  Third,  it  is  de- 
clared and  enacted,  that  from  thenceforth  no  person  shall  be  com- 
pelled to  make  any  loans  to  the  King  against  his  will,  because  such 
loans  were  against  reason  and  the  franchise  of  the  land ;  and  by 
other  laws  of  this  realm  it  is  provided,  that  none  should  be  charged 
by  any  charge  or  imposition,  called  a  Benevolence,  nor  by  such 
like  charge :  by  which,  the  statutes  before-mentioned,  and  other 
the  good  laws  and  statutes  of  this  realm,  your  subjects  have  inher- 
ited this  freedom,  that  they  should  not  be  compelled  to  contribute 


340  English  Constitutional  Documents 

to  any  tax,  tallage,  aid,  or  other  like  charge,  not  set  by  common 
consent  in  Parliament : 

II.  Yet  nevertheless,  of  late  divers  commissions   directed  to 
sundry  Commissioners  in  several  counties,  with  instructions,  have 
issued,  by  means  whereof  your  people  have  been  in  divers  places 
assembled,  and  required  to  lend  certain  sums  of  money  unto  your 
Majesty,  and  many  of  them  upon  their  refusal  so  to  do,  have  had 
an  oath  administered  unto  them,  not  warrantable  by  the  laws  or  stat- 
utes of  this  realm,  and  have  been  constrained  to  become  bound  to 
make  appearance  and  give  attendance  before  your  Privy  Council, 
and  in  other  places,  and  others  of  them  have  been  therefore  im- 
prisoned, confined,  and  sundry  other  ways  molested  and  disquieted  : 
and  divers  other  charges  have  been  laid  and  levied  upon  your  peo- 
ple in  several  counties,  by  Lords  Lieutenants,  Deputy  Lieutenants, 
Commissioners  for  Musters,  Justices  of  Peace  and  others,  by  com- 
mand or   direction    from  your  Majesty  or   your   Privy  Council, 
against  the  laws  and  free  customs  of  this  realm. 

III.  And  where  also  by  the  statute  called,  '  The  Great  Charter 
of  the  Liberties  of  England,'  it  is  declared  and  enacted,  that  no  free- 
man may  be  taken  or  imprisoned  or  be  disseised  of  his  freehold 
or  liberties,  or  his  free  customs,  or  be  outlawed  or  exiled,  or  in  any 
manner  destroyed,  but  by  the  lawful  judgment  of  his  peers,  or  by 
the  law  of  the  land  : 

IV.  And  in  the  eight  and  twentieth  year  of  the  reign  of  King 
Edward  the  Third,  it  was  declared  and  enacted  by  authority  of 
Parliament,  that  no  man  of  what  estate  or  condition  that  he  be, 
should  be  put  out  of  his  lands  or  tenements,  nor  taken,  nor  im- 
prisoned, nor  disherited,  nor  put  to  death,  without  being  brought 
to  answer  by  due  process  of  law : 

V.  Nevertheless,  against  the  tenor  of  the  said  statutes,  and  other 
the  good  laws  and  statutes  of  your  realm,  to  that  end  provided, 
divers  of  your  subjects  have  of  late  been  imprisoned  without  any 
cause  showed,  and  when  for  their  deliverance  they  were  brought 
before  your  Justices,  by  your  Majesty's  writs  of  Habeas  Corpus, 
there  to  undergo  and  receive  as  the  Court  should  order,  and  their 
keepers  commanded  to  certify  the  causes  of  their  detainer ;    no 
cause  was  certified,  but  that  they  were  detained  by  your  Majesty's 
special  command,  signified  by  the  Lords  of  your  Privy  Council, 
and  yet  were  returned  back  to  several  prisons,  without  being  charged 
with  anything  to  which  they  might  make  answer  according  to  the 
law. 

VI.  And  whereas  of  late  great  companies  of  soldiers  and  mari- 
ners have  been  dispersed  into  divers  counties  of  the  realm,  and 


The  Petition  of  Right  341 

the  inhabitants  against  their  wills  have  been  compelled  to  receive 
them  into  their  houses,  and  there  to  suffer  them  to  sojourn,  against 
the  laws  and  customs  of  this  realm,  and  to  the  great  grievance 
and  vexation  of  the  people. 

VII.  And  whereas  also  by  authority  of  Parliament,  hi  the  25th 
year  of  the  reign  of  King  Edward  the  Thud,  it  is  declared  and 
enacted,  that  no  man  shall  be  forejudged  of  life  or  limb  against  the 
form  of  the  Great  Charter,  and  the  law  of  the  land ;  and  by  the 
said  Great  Charter  and  other  the  laws  and  statutes  of  this  your 
realm,  no  man  ought  to  be  adjudged  to  death,  but  by  the  laws  es- 
tablished in  this  your  realm,  either  by  the  customs  of  the  same 
realm  or  by  Acts  of  Parliament :  and  whereas  no  offender  of  what 
kind  soever  is  exempted  from  the  proceedings  to  be  used,  and 
punishments  to  be  inflicted  by  the  laws  and  statutes  of  this  your 
realm;  nevertheless  of  late  divers  commissions  under  your  Maj- 
esty's Great  Seal  have  issued  forth,  by  which  certain  persons  have 
been  assigned  and   appointed   Commissioners  with   power  and 
authority  to  proceed  within  the  land,  according  to  the  justice  of 
martial  law  against  such  soldiers  and  mariners,  or  other  dissolute 
persons  joining  with  them,  as  should  commit  any  murder,  robbery, 
felony,  mutiny,  or  other  outrage  or  misdemeanour  whatsoever,  and 
by  such  summary  course  and  order,  as  is  agreeable  to  martial  law, 
and  is  used  in  armies  in  time  of  war,  to  proceed  to  the  trial  and 
condemnation  of  such  offenders,  and  them  to  cause  to  be  executed 
and  put  to  death,  according  to  the  law  martial : 

VIII.  By  pretext  whereof,  some  of  your  Majesty's  subjects  have 
been  by  some  of  the  said  Commissioners  put  to  death,  when  and 
where,  if  by  the  laws  and  statutes  of  the  land  they  had  deserved 
death,  by  the  same  laws  and  statutes  also  they  might,  and  by  no 
other  ought  to  have  been,  adjudged  and  executed : 

IX.  And  also  sundry  grievous  offenders  by  colour  thereof,  claim- 
ing an  exemption,  have  escaped  the  punishments  due  to  them  by 
the  laws  and  statutes  of  this  your  realm,  by  reason  that  divers  of 
your  officers  and  ministers  of  justice  have  unjustly  refused,  or  for- 
borne to  proceed  against  such  offenders  according  to  the  same  laws 
and  statutes,  upon  pretence  that  the  said  offenders  were  punishable 
only  by  martial  law,  and  by  authority  of  such  commissions  as  afore- 
said ;  which  commissions,  and  all  other  of  like  nature,  are  wholly 
and  directly  contrary  to  the  said  laws  and  statutes  of  this  your 
realm. 

X.  They  do  therefore  humbly  pray  your  Most  Excellent  Majesty, 
that  no  man  hereafter  be  compelled  to  make  or  yield  any  gift, 
loan,  benevolence,  tax,  or  such  like  charge,  without  common  con- 


34^  English  Constitutional  Documents 

sent  by  Act  of  Parliament ;  and  that  none  be  called  to  make 
answer,  or  take  such  oath,  or  to  give  attendance,  or  be  confined, 
or  otherwise  molested  or  disquieted  concerning  the  same,  or  for 
refusal  thereof;  and  that  no  freeman,  in  any  such  manner  as  is 
before-mentioned,  be  imprisoned  or  detained;  and  that  your 
Majesty  will  be  pleased  to  remove  the  said  soldiers  and  mariners, 
and  that  your  people  may  not  be  so  burdened  in  time  to  come ; 
and  that  the  aforesaid  commissions  for  proceeding  by  martial  law, 
may  be  revoked  and  annulled ;  and  that  hereafter  no  commissions 
of  like  nature  may  issue  forth  to  any  person  or  persons  whatsoever, 
to  be  executed  as  aforesaid,  lest  by  colour  of  them  any  of  your 
Majesty's  subjects  be  destroyed  or  put  to  death,  contrary  to  the 
laws  and  franchise  of  the  land. 

XL  All  which  they  most  humbly  pray  of  your  Most  Excellent 
Majesty,  as  their  rights  and  liberties  according  to  the  laws  and 
statutes  of  this  realm  :  and  that  your  Majesty  would  also  vouch- 
safe to  declare,  that  the  awards,  doings,  and  proceedings  to  the 
prejudice  of  your  people,  in  any  of  the  premises,  shall  not  be 
drawn  hereafter  into  consequence  or  example  :  and  that  your 
Majesty  would  be  also  graciously  pleased,  for  the  further  comfort 
and  safety  of  your  people,  to  declare  your  royal  will  and  pleasure, 
that  in  the  things  aforesaid  all  your  officers  and  ministers  shall 
serve  you,  according  to  the  laws  and  statutes  of  this  realm,  as 
they  tender  the  honour  of  your  Majesty,  and  the  prosperity  of  this 
kingdom. 

[Which  Petition  being  read  the  2nd  of  June  1628,  the  King's 
answer  was  thus  delivered  unto  it: 

The  King  willeth  that  right  be  done  according  to  the  laws  and 
customs  of  the  realm ;  and  that  the  statutes  be  put  in  due  execu- 
tion, that  his  subjects  may  have  no  cause  to  complain  of  any 
wrong  or  oppressions,  contrary  to  their  just  rights  and  liberties,  to 
the  preservation  whereof  he  holds  himself  as  well  obliged  as  of  his 
prerogative. 

On  June  7  the  answer  was  given  in  the  accustomed  form,  Soit 
droitfait  comme  il  est  desire.] 


Remonstrance  against  Tonnage  and  Poundage     343 

190.  The  Remonstrance  against  Tonnage  and 
Poundage 

(1628,  June  25.     Rushworth,  i.  628.     Gardiner,  70-73.) 

A /TOST  Gracious  Sovereign,  your  Majesty's  most  loyal  and  dutiful 
1V1  subjects,  the  Commons  in  this  present  Parliament  assembled, 
being  in  nothing  more  careful  than  of  the  honour  and  prosperity  of 
your  Majesty,  and  the  kingdom,  which  they  know  do  much  depend 
upon  that  happy  union  and  relation  betwixt  your  Majesty  and 
your  people,  do  with  much  sorrow  apprehend,  that  by  reason  of 
the  incertainty  of  their  continuance  together,  the  unexpected 
interruptions  which  have  been  cast  upon  them,  and  the  shortness 
of  time  in  which  your  Majesty  hath  determined  to  end  this  Ses- 
sion, they  cannot  bring  to  maturity  and  perfection  divers  busi- 
nesses of  weight,  which  they  have  taken  into  their  consideration 
and  resolution,  as  most  important  for  the  common  good  :  amongst 
other  things  they  have  taken  into  especial  care  the  preparing  of  a 
Bill  for  the  granting  of  your  Majesty  such  a  subsidy  of  Tonnage 
and  Poundage,  as  might  uphold  your  profit  and  revenue  in  as 
ample  a  manner  as  their  just  care  and  respect  of  trade  (wherein 
not  only  the  prosperity,  but  even  the  life  of  the  kingdom  doth 
consist)  would  permit :  but  being  a  work  which  will  require  much 
time,  and  preparation  by  conference  with  your  Majesty's  officers, 
and  with  the  merchants,  not  only  of  London,  but  of  other  remote 
parts,  they  find  it  not  possible  to  be  accomplished  at  this  time : 
wherefore  considering  it  will  be  much  more  prejudicial  to  the  right 
of  the  subject,  if  your  Majesty  should  continue  to  receive  the  same 
without  authority  of  law,  after  the  determination  of  a  Session,  than 
if  there  had  been  a  recess  by  adjournment  only,  in  which  case  that 
intended  grant  would  have  related  to  the  first  day  of  the  Parlia- 
ment ;  and  assuring  themselves  that  your  Majesty  is  resolved  to 
observe  that  your  royal  answer,  which  you  have  lately  made  to  the 
Petition  of  Right  of  both  Houses  of  Parliament;  yet  doubting 
lest  your  Majesty  may  be  misinformed  concerning  this  particular 
case,  as  if  you  might  continue  to  take  those  subsidies  of  Tonnage 
and  Poundage,  and  other  impositions  upon  merchants,  without 
breaking  that  answer,  they  are  forced  by  that  duty  which  they  owe 
to  your  Majesty,  and  to  those  whom  they  represent,  to  declare, 
that  there  ought  not  any  imposition  to  be  laid  upon  the  goods  of 
merchants,  exported  or  imported,  without  common  consent  by  Act 
of  Parliament,  which  is  the  right  and  inheritance  of  your  subjects, 


344          English  Constitutional  Documents 

founded  not  only  upon  the  most  ancient  and  original  constitution 
of  this  kingdom,  but  often  confirmed  and  declared  in  divers 
statute  laws. 

II.  And  for  the  better  manifestation  thereof,  may  it  please  youf 
Majesty  to  understand,  that  although  your  royal  predecessors  the 
Kings  of  this  realm  have  often  had  such  subsidies,  and  imposi- 
tions granted  unto  them,  upon  divers  occasions,  especially  for  the 
guarding  of  the  seas,  and  safeguard  of  merchants ;  yet  the  sub- 
jects have  been  ever  careful  to  use  such  cautions  and  limitations 
in  those  grants,  as  might  prevent  any  claim  to  be  made,  that  such 
subsidies  do  proceed  from  duty,  and  not  from  the  free  gift  of  the 
subjects  :  and  that  they  have  heretofore  used  to  limit  a  time  in 
such  grants,  and  for  the  most  part  but  short,  as  for  a  year  or  two, 
and  if  it  were  continued  longer,  they  have  sometimes  directed  a 
certain  space  of  cessation,  or  intermission,  that  so  the  right  of  the 
subject  might  be  more  evident.  At  other  times  it  hath  been 
granted  upon  occasion  of  war,  for  a  certain  number  of  years,  with 
proviso,  that  if  the  war  were  ended  in  the  meantime,  then  the 
grant  should  cease ;  and  of  course  it  hath  been  sequestered  into 
the  hands  of  some  subjects  to  be  employed  for  the  guarding  of 
the  seas.  And  it  is  acknowledged  by  the  ordinary  answers  of  your 
Majesty's  predecessors  in  their  assent  to  the  Bills  of  subsidies  of 
Tonnage  and  Poundage,  that  it  is  of  the  nature  of  other  subsidies, 
proceeding  from  the  good  will  of  the  subject.  Very  few  of  your 
predecessors  had  it  for  life,  until  the  reign  of  Henry  VII,  who  was 
so  far  from  conceiving  he  had  any  right  thereunto,  that  although 
he  granted  commissions  for  collecting  certain  duties  and  customs 
due  by  law,  yet  he  made  no  commissions  for  receiving  the  subsidy  of 
Tonnage  and  Poundage,  until  the  same  was  granted  unto  him  in 
Parliament.  Since  his  time  all  the  Kings  and  Queens  of  this 
realm  have  had  the  like  grants  for  life  by  the  free  love  and  good 
will  of  the  subjects.  And  whensoever  the  people  have  been 
grieved  by  laying  any  impositions  or  other  charges  upon  their 
goods  and  merchandises  without  authority  of  law  (which  hath 
been  very  seldom),  yet  upon  complaint  in  Parliament  they  have 
been  forthwith  relieved ;  saving  in  the  time  of  your  royal  father, 
who  having  through  ill  counsel  raised  the  rates  and  charges  upon 
merchandises  to  that  height  at  which  they  now  are,  yet  he  was 
pleased  so  far  forth  to  yield  to  the  complaint  of  his  people,  as  to 
offer  that  if  the  value  of  those  impositions  which  he  had  set  might 
be  made  good  unto  him,  he  would  bind  himself  and  his  heirs  by 
Act  of  Parliament  never  to  lay  any  other ;  which  offer  the  Com- 
mons at  that  time,  in  regard  of  the  great  burden,  did  not  think  fit 


The  King's  Speech  proroguing  Parliament     345 

to  yield  unto.  Nevertheless,  your  loyal  Commons  in  this  Parlia- 
ment, out  of  their  especial  zeal  to  your  service,  and  especial 
regard  of  your  pressing  occasions,  have  taken  into  their  considera- 
tion, so  to  frame  a  grant  of  subsidy  of  Tonnage  or  Poundage  to 
your  Majesty,  that  both  you  might  have  been  the  better  enabled 
for  the  defence  of  your  realm,  and  your  subjects,  by  being  secure 
from  all  undue  charges,  be  the  more  encouraged  cheerfully  to  pro- 
ceed in  their  course  of  trade ;  by  the  increase  whereof  your 
Majesty's  profit,  and  likewise  the  strength  of  the  kingdom  would 
be  very  much  augmented. 

III.  But  not  now  being  able  to  accomplish  this  their  desire, 
there  is  no  course  left  unto  them,  without   manifest   breach  of 
their  duty,  both  to  your  Majesty  and  their  country,  save  only  to 
make  this  humble  declaration,  *  That  the  receiving  of  Tonnage  and 
Poundage,  and  other  impositions  not  granted  by  Parliament,  is  a 
breach  of  the  fundamental  liberties  of  this  kingdom,  and  contrary 
to  your  Majesty's  royal  answer  to  the  said  Petition  of  Right.'     And 
therefore  they  do  most  humbly  beseech  your  Majesty  to  forbear 
any  further  receiving  of  the  same,  and  not  to  take  it  in  ill  part  from 
those  of  your  Majesty's  loving  subjects,  who  shall  refuse  to  make 
payment  of  any  such  charges,  without  warrant  of  law  demanded 

IV.  And  as  by  this  forbearance,  your  Most  Excellent  Majesty 
shall  manifest  unto  the  world  your  royal  justice  in  the  observation 
of  your  laws :  so  they  doubt  not,  but  hereafter,  at  the  time  ap- 
pointed for  their  coming  again,  they  shall  have  occasion  to  express 
their  great  desire  to  advance  your  Majesty's  honour  and  profit. 


191.    The  King's  Speech  proroguing  Parlia- 
ment 

(1628,  June  26.     Rushworth,  L  631.    Gardiner,  73,  74.) 

IT  may  seem  strange,  that  I  came  so  suddenly  to  end  this  Ses- 
sion ;  before  I  give  my  assent  to  the  Bills,  I  will  tell  you  the 
cause,  though  I  must  avow,  that  I  owe  the  account  of  my  actions 
to  God  alone.  It  is  known  to  every  one,  that  a  while  ago  the  House 
of  Commons  gave  me  a  Remonstrance,  how  acceptable  every  man 
may  judge  ;  and  for  the  merit  of  it,  I  will  not  call  that  in  question, 
for  I  am  sure  no  wise  man  can  justify  it. 

Now  since  I  am  truly  informed,  that  a  second  Remonstrance  is 
preparing  for  me  to  take   away  the   profit  of  my  Tonnage  and 


346  English  Constitutional   Documents 

Poundage,  one  of  the  chiefest  maintenances  of  my  Crown,  by 
alleging  I  have  given  away  my  right  thereto  by  my  answer  to 
your  Petition  : 

This  is  so  prejudicial  unto  me,  that  I  am  forced  to  end  this  Ses- 
sion some  few  hours  before  I  meant,  being  not  willing  to  receive 
any  more  Remonstrances,  to  which  I  must  give  a  harsh  answer. 
And  since  I  see  that  even  the  House  of  Commons  begins  already 
cO  make  false  constructions  of  what  I  granted  in  your  Petition,  lest 
it  be  worse  interpreted  in  the  country,  I  will  now  make  a  declara- 
tion concerning  the  true  intent  thereof: 

The  profession  of  both  Houses  in  the  time  of  hammering  this 
Petition,  was  no  ways  to  trench  upon  my  Prerogative,  saying  they 
had  neither  intention  or  power  to  hurt  it.  Therefore  it  must 
needs  be  conceived  that  I  have  granted  no  new,  but  only  con- 
firmed the  ancient  liberties  of  my  subjects  :  yet  to  show  the  clear- 
ness of  my  intentions,  that  I  neither  repent,  nor  mean  to  recede 
from  anything  I  have  promised  you,  I  do  here  declare  myself,  that 
those  things  which  have  been  done,  whereby  many  have  had  some 
cause  to  expect  the  liberties  of  the  subjects  to  be  trenched  upon, 
—  which  indeed  was  the  first  and  true  ground  of  the  Petition,  — 
shall  not  hereafter  be  drawn  into  example  for  your  prejudice,  and 
from  time  to  time ;  in  the  word  of  a  king,  ye  shall  not  have  the 
like  cause  to  complain  :  but  as  for  Tonnage  and  Poundage,  it  is  a 
thing  I  cannot  want,  and  was  never  intended  by  you  to  ask,  nor 
meant  by  me  —  I  am  sure  —  to  grant. 

To  conclude,  I  command  you  all  that  are  here  to  take  notice  of 
what  I  have  spoken  at  this  time,  to  be  the  true  intent  and  meaning 
of  what  I  granted  you  in  your  Petition ;  but  especially,  you  my 
Lords  the  Judges,  for  to  you  only  under  me  belongs  the  interpre- 
tation of  laws,  for  none  of  the  Houses  of  Parliament,  either  joint 
or  separate,  (what  new  doctrine  soever  may  be  raised)  have  any 
power  either  to  make  or  declare  a  law  without  my  consent. 


192.    Protest  of  the  House  of  Commons 

(162$,  March  2.     Rushworth,  i.  660.     Gardiner,  82,  83.) 

i.  WHOSOEVER  shall  bring  in  innovation  of  religion  or  by  favour 
or  countenance  seem  to  extend  or  introduce  Popery  or  Arminian- 
ism,  or  other  opinion  disagreeing  from  the  true  and  orthodox 
Church,  shall  be  reputed  a  capital  enemy  to  this  Kingdom  and 
Commonwealth. 


First  Writ  of  Ship-money  347 

2.  Whosoever  shall  counsel  or  advise  the  taking  and  levying  of 
the  subsidies  of  Tonnage  and  Poundage,  not  being  granted  by  Par- 
liament, or  shall  be  an  actor  or  instrument  therein,  shall  be  like- 
wise reputed  an  innovator  in  the  Government,  and  a  capital  enemy 
to  the  Kingdom  and  Commonwealth. 

3.  If  any  merchant  or  person  whatsoever  shall  voluntarily  yield, 
or  pay  the  said  subsidies  of  Tonnage  and  Poundage,  not  being 
granted  by  Parliament,  he  shall  likewise  be  reputed  a  betrayer  of 
the  liberties  of  England,  and  an  enemy  to  the  same. 


193.    First  Writ  of  Ship-money 

(1634.    Rushworth,  it  257.    Gardiner,  105-108.) 

CAROLUS  REX,  &c. 
To  the  Mayor,  commonalty,  and  citizens  of  our  city  of  Lon. 
don,  and  to  the  sheriffs  of  the  same  city,  and  good  men  in  the 
said  city  and  in  the  liberties,  and  members  of  the  same,  greeting : 
Because  we  are  given  to  understand  that  certain  thieves,  pirates, 
and  robbers  of  the  sea,  as  well  Turks,  enemies  of  the  Christian 
name,  as  others,  being  gathered  together,  wickedly  taking  by  force 
and  spoiling  the  ships,  and  goods,  and  merchandises,  not  only  of 
our  subjects,  but  also  the  subjects  of  our  friends  in  the  sea,  which 
hath  been  accustomed  anciently  to  be  defended  by  the  English 
nation,  and  the  same,  at  then*  pleasure,  have  carried  away,  deliver- 
ing the  men  in  the  same  into  miserable  captivity :  and  forasmuch 
as  we  see  them  daily  preparing  all  manner  of  shipping  farther  to 
molest  our  merchants,  and  to  grieve  the  kingdom,  unless  remedy 
be  not  sooner  applied,  and  their  endeavours  be  not  more  manly 
met  withal ;  also  the  dangers  considered  which,  on  every  side,  in 
these  times  of  war  do  hang  over  our  heads,  that  it  behoveth  us  and 
our  subjects  to  hasten  the  defence  of  the  sea  and  kingdom  with 
all  expedition  or  speed  that  we  can ;  we  willing  by  the  help  of 
God  chiefly  to  provide  for  the  defence  of  the  kingdom,  safeguard 
of  the  sea,  security  of  our  subjects,  safe  conduct  of  ships  and  mer- 
chandises to  our  kingdom  of  England  coming,  and  from  the  same 
kingdom  to  foreign  parts  passing ;  forasmuch  as  we,  and  our  pro- 
genitors, Kings  of  England,  have  been  always  heretofore  masters 
of  the  aforesaid  sea,  and  it  would  be  very  irksome  unto  us  if  that 
princely  honour  hi  our  times  should  be  lost  or  in  anything  dimin- 
ished. And  although  that  charge  of  defence  which  concerneth 


348          English  Constitutional  Documents 

all  men  ought  to  be  supported  by  all,  as  by  the  laws  and  customs 
of  the  kingdom  of  England  hath  been  accustomed  to  be  done : 
notwithstanding  we  considering  that  you  constituted  in  the  sea- 
coasts,  to  whom  by  sea  as  well  great  dangers  are  imminent,  and 
who  by  the  same  do  get  more  plentiful  gains  for  the  defence  of 
the  sea,  and  conservation  of  our  princely  honour  in  that  behalf, 
according  to  the  duty  of  your  allegiance  against  such  attempts,  are 
chiefly  bound  to  set  to  your  helping  hand ;  we  command  firmly, 
enjoining  you  the  aforesaid  Mayor,  commonalty  and  citizens,  and 
sheriffs  of  the  said  city,  and  the  good  men  in  the  same  city  and  in 
the  liberties,  and  members  of  the  same,  in  the  faith  and  allegiance 
wherein  you  are  bound  unto  us,  and  as  you  do  love  us  and  our 
honour,  and  under  the  forfeiture  of  all  which  you  can  forfeit  to  us, 
that  you  cause  to  be  prepared  and  brought  to  the  port  of  Ports- 
mouth, before  the  first  day  of  March  now  next  ensuing,  one  ship 
of  war  of  the  burden  of  nine  hundred  tons,  with  three  hundred  and 
fifty  men  at  the  least,  as  well  expert  masters,  as  very  able  and  skil- 
ful mariners  ;  one  other  ship  of  war  of  the  burden  of  eight  hundred 
tons,  with  two  hundred  and  sixty  men  at  the  least,  as  well  skilful 
masters,  as  very  able  and  expert  mariners  :  four  other  ships  of  war, 
every  of  them  of  the  burden  of  five  hundred  tons,  and  every  of 
them  with  two  hundred  men  at  the  least,  as  well  expert  masters, 
as  very  able  and  skilful  mariners  :  and  one  other  ship  of  war  of 
the  burden  of  three  hundred  tons,  with  a  hundred  and  fifty  men, 
as  well  expert  masters,  as  very  able  and  skilful  mariners  :  and  also 
every  of  the  said  ships  with  ordnance,  as  well  greater  as  lesser, 
gunpowder,  and  spears  and  weapons,  and  other  necessary  arms 
sufficient  for  war,  and  with  double  tackling,  and  with  victuals,  until 
the  said  first  of  March,  competent  for  so  many  men ;  and  from 
that  time,  for  twenty-six  weeks,  at  your  charges,  as  well  in  victuals 
as  men's  wages,  and  other  things  necessary  for  war,  during  that 
time,  upon  defence  of  the  sea  in  our  service,  in  command  of  the 
admiral  of  the  sea,  to  whom  we  shall  commit  the  custody  of  the 
sea,  before  the  aforesaid  first  day  of  March,  and  as  he,  on  our 
behalf,  shall  command  them  to  continue ;  so  that  they  may  be 
there  the  same  day,  at  the  farthest,  to  go  from  thence  with  our 
ships,  and  the  ships  of  other  faithful  subjects,  for  the  safeguard  of 
the  sea,  and  defence  of  you  and  yours,  and  repulse  and  vanquish- 
ing of  whomsoever  busying  themselves  to  molest  or  trouble  upon 
the  sea  our  merchants,  and.other  subjects,  and  faithful  people  com- 
ing into  our  dominions  for  cause  of  merchandise,  or  from  thence 
returning  to  their  own  countries.  Also  we  have  assigned  you,  the 
aforesaid  Mayor  and  Aldermen  of  the  city  aforesaid,  or  any  thirteen. 


The  Answer  of  the  Judges  349 

or  more  of  you,  within  thirteen  days  after  the  receipt  of  this  writ, 
to  assess  all  men  in  the  said  city,  and  in  the  liberties,  and  mem- 
bers of  the  same,  and  the  landholders  in  the  same,  not  having  a 
ship,  or  any  part  of  the  aforesaid  ships,  nor  serving  in  the  same, 
to  contribute  to  the  expenses,  about  the  necessary  provision  of  the 
premises ;  and  to  assess  and  lay  upon  the  aforesaid  city,  with  the 
liberties  and  members  thereof,  viz.  upon  every  of  them  according 
to  their  estate  and  substances,  and  the  portion  assessed  upon  them  ; 
and  to  nominate  and  appoint  collectors  in  this  behalf.  Also  we 
have  assigned  you,  the  aforesaid  Mayor,  and  also  the  Sheriffs  of 
the  city  aforesaid,  to  levy  the  portions  so  as  aforesaid  assessed 
upon  the  aforesaid  men  and  landholders,  and  every  of  them  in  the 
aforesaid  city,  with  the  liberties  and  members  of  the  same,  by  dis- 
tress and  other  due  means ;  and  to  commit  to  prison  all  those 
whom  you  shall  find  rebellious  and  contrary  in  the  premises,  there 
to  remain  until  we  shall  give  further  order  for  their  delivery. 
And  moreover  we  command  you,  that  about  the  premises  you  dili- 
gently attend,  and  do,  and  execute  those  things  with  effect,  upon 
peril  that  shall  fall  thereon :  but  we  will  not,  that  under  colour  of 
our  aforesaid  command,  more  should  be  levied  of  the  said  men 
than  shall  suffice  for  the  necessary  expenses  of  the  premises ;  or 
that  any  who  have  levied  money  for  contribution  to  raise  the  afore- 
said charges,  should  by  him  detain  the  same,  or  any  part  thereof; 
or  should  presume,  by  any  manner  of  colour,  to  appropriate  the 
same  to  other  uses ;  willing,  that  if  more  than  may  be  sufficient 
shall  be  collected,  the  same  may  be  paid  out  among  the  contribu- 
tors, for  the  rate  of  the  part  to  them  belonging. 

Witness  myself,  at  Westminster  the  twentieth  day  of  October,  in 
the  tenth  year  of  our  reign.1 


194.    The  Answer  of  the  Judges  in  the  Matter 
of  Ship-money 

(1637,  February  7.     Rushworth,  ii.  355.     Gardiner,  108,  109.) 

CAROLUS   REX 
When  the  good  and  safety  of  the  kingdom  in  general  is 
concerned,  and  the  whole  kingdom  in  danger,  whether  may  not 
the  King,  by  writ  under  the  Great  Seal  of  England,  command  all 
the  subjects  of  our  kingdom  at  their  charge  to  provide  and  furnish 

1  In  1635  the  writs  were  extended  to  the  inland  counties. 


350  English  Constitutional  Documents 

such  a  number  of  ships,  with  men,  victuals,  and  munition,  and  for 
such  time  as  we  shall  think  fit,  for  the  defence  and  safeguard  of  the 
kingdom  from  such  danger  and  peril,  and  by  law  compel  the  doing 
thereof,  in  case  of  refusal  or  refractoriness  :  and  whether  in  such 
a  case  is  not  the  King  the  sole  judge  both  of  the  danger,  and  when 
and  how  the  same  is  to  be  prevented  and  avoided? 

May  it  please  your  Most  Excellent  Majesty, 
We  have,  according  to  your  Majesty's  command,  every  man  by 
himself,  and  all  of  us  together,  taken  into  serious  consideration  the 
case  and  question  signed  by  your  Majesty,  and  inclosed  in  your 
royal  letter  ;  and  we  are  of  opinion,  that  when  the  good  and  safety 
of  the  kingdom  in  general  is  concerned,  and  the  kingdom  in  danger, 
your  Majesty  may,  by  writ  under  the  Great  Seal  of  England,  com- 
mand all  your  subjects  of  this  your  kingdom,  at  their  charge  to  pro- 
vide and  furnish  such  a  number  of  ships,  with  men,  victuals,  and 
munition,  and  for  such  time  as  your  Majesty  shall  think  fit  for  the 
defence  and  safeguard  of  this  kingdom  from  such  danger  and  peril : 
and  that  by  law  your  Majesty  may  compel  the  doing  thereof  in  case 
of  refusal,  or  refractoriness :  and  we  are  also  of  opinion,  that  in 
such  case  your  Majesty  is  the  sole  judge  both  of  the  danger, 
and  when  and  how  the  same  is  to  be  prevented  and  avoided. 

John  Bramston,  George  Croke, 

John  Finch,  Thomas  Trevor, 

Humphry  Davenport,  George  Vernon, 

John  Denham,  Francis  Crawley, 

Richard  Hutton,  Robert  Berkeley, 

William  Jones,  Richard  Weston. 


195.    The  Triennial  Act 

(164$,  February  15.     16  Charles  I.  c.  I.     5  S.  R.  54.     Gardiner,  144-155.) 

I.  WHEREAS  by  the  laws  and  statutes  of  this  realm  the  Parlia- 
ment ought  to  be  holden  at  least  once  every  year  for  the  redress 
of  grievances,  but  the  appointment  of  the  time  and  place  for  the 
holding  thereof  hath  always  belonged,  as  it  ought,  to  His  Majesty 
and  his  royal  progenitors  :  and  whereas  it  is  by  experience  found 
that  the  not  holding  of  Parliaments  accordingly  hath  produced 
sundry  and  great  mischiefs  and  inconveniences  to  the  King's 
Majesty,  the  Church  and  Commonwealth  ;  for  the  prevention  of 
the  like  mischiefs  and  inconveniences  in  time  to  come : 


The  Triennial  Act  351 

II.  Be  it  enacted  by  the  King's  Most  Excellent  Majesty,  with 
the  consent  of  the  Lords  spiritual  and  temporal,  and  the  Commons 
in  this  present  Parliament  assembled,  that  the  said  laws  and  statutes 
be  from  henceforth  duly  kept  and  observed ;  and  your  Majesty's 
loyal  and  obedient  subjects,  in  this  present  Parliament  now  assem- 
bled, do  humbly  pray  that  it  be  enacted  :  and  be  it  enacted  accord- 
ingly, by  the  authority  of  this  present  Parliament,  that  in  case  there 
be  not  a  Parliament  summoned  by  writ  under  the  Great  Seal  of 
England,  and  assembled  and  held  before  the  loth  of  September, 
which  shall  be  in  the  third  year  next  after  the  last  day  of  the  last 
meeting  and  sitting  in  this  present  Parliament,  the  beginning  of 
the  first  year  to  be  accounted  from  the  said  last  day  of  the  last 
meeting  and  sitting  in  Parliament ;  and  so  from  time  to  time,  and 
in  all  times  hereafter,  if  there  shall  not  be  a  Parliament  assembled 
and  held  before  the  loth  day  of  September,  which  shall  be  in  the 
third  year  next  after  the  last  day  of  the  last  meeting  and  sitting  in 
Parliament  before  the  time  assembled  and  held ;  the  beginning 
of  the  first  year  to  be  accounted  from  the  said  last  day  of 
the  last  meeting  and  sitting  in  Parliament ;  that  then  in  every 
such  case  as  aforesaid,  the  Parliament  shall  assemble  and. 
be  held  in  the  usual  place  at  Westminster,  in  such  manner,  and 
by  such  means  only,  as  is  hereafter  in  this  present  Act  declared 
and  enacted,  and  not  otherwise,  on  the  second  Monday, 
which  shall  be  in  the  month  of  November,  then  next  ensuing. 
And  in  case  this  present  Parliament  now  assembled  and  held, 
or  any  other  Parliament  which  shall  at  any  time  hereafter  be 
assembled  and  held  by  writ  under  the  Great  Seal  of  England,  or 
in  case  any  Parliament  shall  be  assembled  and  held  by  authority 
of  this  present  Act ;  and  such  Parliaments,  or  any  of  them,  shall 
be  prorogued,  or  adjourned,  or  continued  by  prorogation  or  ad- 
journment, until  the  loth  day  of  September,  which  shall  be  in  the 
third  year  next  after  the  last  day  of  the  last  meeting  and  sitting  in 
Parliament,  to  be  accounted  as  aforesaid ;  that  then  in  every  such 
case,  every  such  Parliament  so  prorogued  or  adjourned,  or  so  con- 
tinued by  prorogation  or  adjournment,  as  aforesaid,  shall  from  the 
said  loth  day  of  September  be  thenceforth  clearly  and  absolutely 
dissolved,  and  the  Lord  Chancellor  of  England,  the  Lord  Keeper 
of  the  Great  Seal  of  England,  and  every  Commissioner  and  Com- 
missioners for  the  keeping  of  the  Great  Seal  of  England  for  the 
time  being,  shall  within  six  days  after  the  said  loth  day  of  Sep- 
tember, in  every  such  third  year  as  aforesaid,  in  due  form  of  law 
and  without  any  further  warrant  or  direction  from  His  Majesty, 
his  heirs  or  successors,  seal,  issue  forth,  and  send  abroad  several 


35^  English  Constitutional  Documents 

and  respective  writs  to  the  several  and  respective  peers  of  this 
realm,  commanding  every  such  peer  that  he  personally  be  at  the 
Parliament  to  be  held  at  Westminster  on  the  second  Monday 
which  shall  be  in  November  next  following  the  said  loth  day  of 
September,  then  and  there  to  treat  concerning  the  high  and 
urgent  affairs  concerning  His  Majesty,  the  state  and  defence  of 
the  kingdom  and  Church  of  England ;  and  shall  also  seal  and 
issue  forth,  and  send  abroad  several  and  respective  writs  to  the 
several  and  respective  sheriffs  of  the  several  and  respective 
counties,  cities  and  boroughs  of  England  and  Wales,  and  to  the  Con- 
stable of  the  Castle  of  Dover,  Lord  Warden  of  the  Cinque  Ports, 
or  his  lieutenant  for  the  time  being,  and  to  the  Mayor  and  Bailiffs 
of  Berwick  upon  Tweed,  and  to  all  and  every  other  officers  and 
persons  to  whom  writs  have  used  to  be  directed,  for  the  electing 
of  the  knights,  citizens,  barons  and  burgesses  of  and  for  the  said 
Counties,  Cities,  Cinque  Ports  and  Boroughs  of  England  and  Wales 
respectively,  in  the  accustomed  form,  to  appear  and  serve  in  the 
Parliament  to  be  held  at  Westminster  on  the  said  second  Monday, 
which  shall  be  in  November  aforesaid ;  which  said  peers,  after  the 
said  writs  received,  and  which  said  knights,  citizens,  barons  and  bur- 
gesses chosen  by  virtue  of  the  said  writs,  shall  then  and  there  appear 
and  serve  in  Parliament  accordingly.  And  the  said  Lord  Chan- 
cellor, Lord  Keeper,  Commissioner  and  Commissioners  aforesaid, 
shall  respectively  take  a  solemn  oath  upon  the  Holy  Evangelists 
for  the  due  issuing  of  writs,  according  to  the  tenor  of  this  Act, 
in  hcec  verba,  — 

'  You  shall  swear  that  you  shall  truly  and  faithfully  issue  forth, 
and  send  abroad  all  writs  of  summons  to  Parliament  for  both 
Houses,  at  such  time,  and  in  such  manner,  as  is  expressed  and 
enjoined  by  an  Act  of  Parliament,  entitled,  "  An  Act  for  the  pre- 
venting of  inconveniences  happening  by  the  long  intermission  of 
Parliaments." ' 

Which  oath  is  forthwith  to  be  taken  by  the  present  Lord  Keeper, 
and  to  be  administered  by  the  Clerk  of  the  Crown  to  every  Lord 
Chancellor,  Lord  Keeper,  Commissioner  and  Commissioners  afore- 
said ;  and  that  none  of  the  said  officers  respectively  shall  hence- 
forth execute  any  the  said  offices  before  they  have  taken  the  said 
oath.  And  if  the  said  Lord  Chancellor,  Lord  Keeper,  or  any  of 
the  said  Commissioners  shall  fail,  or  forbear  so  to  issue  out  the 
said  writs,  according  to  the  true  meaning  of  this  Act,  then  he  or 
they  respectively  shall,  beside  the  incurring  of  the  grievous  sin  of 
perjury,  be  disabled,  and  become,  by  virtue  of  this  Act,  incapable, 
ipso  facto,  to  bear  his  and  their  said  offices  respectively ;  and  be 


The  Triennial  Act  353 

further  liable  to  such  punishments  as  shall  be  inflicted  upon  him 
or  them  by  the  next,  or  any  other  ensuing  Parliament.  And  in 
case  the  said  Lord  Chancellor,  Lord  Keeper,  Commissioner  or 
Commissioners  aforesaid,  shall  not  issue  forth  the  said  writs  as 
aforesaid :  or  in  case  that  the  Parliament  do  not  assemble  and 
be  held  at  the  time  and  place  before  appointed,  then  the  Parlia- 
ment shall  assemble  and  be  held  in  the  usual  place  at  Westminster, 
in  such  manner,  and  by  such  means  only,  as  is  hereafter  in  this 
present  Act  declared  and  enacted,  and  not  otherwise,  on  the  third 
Monday  which  shall  be  in  the  month  of  January  then  next  ensu- 
ing. And  the  peers  of  this  realm  shall  by  virtue  of  this  Act  be 
enabled,  and  are  enjoined  to  meet  in  the  Old  Palace  of  Westmin- 
ster, in  the  usual  place  there,  on  the  third  Monday  in  the  said 
month  of  November :  and  they  or  any  twelve  or  more  of  them, 
then  and  there  assembled,  shall  on  or  before  the  last  Monday  of 
November  next  following  the  tenth  day  of  September  aforesaid,  by 
virtue  of  this  Act,  without  any  warrant,  issue  out  writs  in  the  usual 
form,  in  the  name  of  the  King's  Majesty,  his  heirs  or  successors, 
attested  under  the  hands  and  seals  of  twelve  or  more  of  the  said 
peers,  to  the  several  and  respective  sheriffs  *  *  *  for  the  electing 
of  the  knights,  *  *  *  to  be  and  appear  at  the  Parliament  at  West- 
minster aforesaid,  to  be  held  on  the  third  Monday  in  January  then 
next  following  :  all  and  every  which  writs  the  Clerks  of  the  Petty 
Bag,  and  other  clerks,  to  whom  the  writing  of  the  writs  for  sum- 
mons to  the  Parliament  doth  and  shall  belong,  or  whom  the  said 
Lords,  or  twelve  or  more  of  them  shall  appoint,  shall  at  the  com- 
mand of  the  said  Lords  so  assembled,  or  of  any  twelve  or  more  of 
them,  make  and  prepare  ready  for  the  signature  of  the  said  Lords, 
or  any  twelve  or  more  of  them,  under  pain  of  the  loss  of  their  places 
and  offices,  and  of  such  other  punishment  as  in  the  next,  or  any 
other  ensuing  Parliament,  shall  be  inflicted  on  him  or  them  :  and 
it  is  enacted  that  the  said  writs  so  issued  shall  be  of  the  same  power 
and  force  to  all  intents  and  purposes,  as  the  writs  or  summons  to 
Parliament  under  the  Great  Seal  of  England  have  ever  been  or 
ought  to  be.  And  all  the  messengers  of  the  Chamber  or  others 
who  shall  be  appointed  by  the  said  lords,  or  any  twelve  or  more, 
are  hereby  required  faithfully  and  speedily  to  deliver  the  said  writs 
to  every  person  and  persons,  sheriffs,  officers,  and  others,  to  whom 
the  same  shall  be  directed  :  which  if  the  said  messengers  or  any 
of  them  shall  fail  to  perform,  they  shall  forfeit  their  respective 
places,  and  incur  such  other  pains  and  punishments  as  by  that  or 
any  other  ensuing  Parliament  shall  be  imposed  on  them. 

III.   And  it  is  also  further  enacted,  that  all  and  every  the  peers 


354  English  Constitutional  Documents 

of  this  realm  shall  make  their  appearance,  and  shall  assemble  on 
the  said  third  Monday  in  January,  in  such  manner,  and  to  such 
effect,  and  with  such  power,  as  if  they  had  received  every  of  them 
writs  of  summons  to  Parliament  under  the  Great  Seal  of  England, 
in  the  usual  and  accustomed  manner.  And  in  case  the  said  Lords, 
or  twelve  or  more  of  them,  shall  fail  to  issue  forth  such  writs,  or 
that  the  said  writs  do  not  come  to  the  said  several  Counties,  Cities, 
Cinque  Ports  and  Boroughs,  so  that  an  election  be  not  thereupon 
made ;  and  in  case  there  be  not  a  Parliament  assembled  and  held 
before  the  23rd  day  of  the  said  month  of  January,  and  so  from 
time  to  time,  and  in  all  times  hereafter,  if  there  shall  not  be  a  Par- 
liament assembled  and  held  before  the  said  23rd  day  of  January, 
then  in  every  such  case  as  aforesaid  the  Parliament  shall  assemble, 
and  be  held  in  the  usual  place  at  Westminster,  in  such  manner,  and 
by  such  means  only,  as  is  hereafter  in  this  present  Act  declared  and 
enacted,  and  not  otherwise,  on  the  second  Tuesday  which  shall 
be  in  the  month  of  March  next  after  the  said  23rd  day  of  January ; 
at  which  Parliament  the  peers  of  this  realm  shall  make  their  appear- 
ance, and  shall  assemble  at  the  time  and  place  aforesaid,  and  shall 
each  of  them  be  liable  unto  such  pains  and  censures  for  his  and 
their  not  appearing  and  serving  then  and  there  in  Parliament, 
as  if  he  or  they  had  been  summoned  by  writ  under  the  Great  Seal 
of  England,  and  had  not  appeared  and  served ;  and  to  such  fur- 
ther pains  and  censures,  as  by  the  rest  of  the  peers  in  Parliament 
assembled  they  shall  be  adjudged  unto. 

IV.  And  for  the  better  assembling  of  the  knights,  citizens,  bar- 
ons, and  burgesses  to  the  said  Parliament,  as  aforesaid,  it  is  further 
enacted,  that  the  several  and  respective  sheriffs  of  the  several  and 
respective  Counties,  Cities  and  Boroughs  of  England  and  Wales, 
and  the  Chancellors,  Masters  and  Scholars  of  both  and  every  of 
the  Universities,  and  the  Mayor  and  Bailiffs  of  the  borough  of 
Berwick  upon  Tweed,  shall  at  the  several  courts  and  places  to  be 
held  and  appointed  for  their  respective  Counties,  Universities, 
Cities  and  Boroughs,  next  after  the  said  23rd  day  of  January,  cause 
such  knight  and  knights,  citizen  and  citizens,  burgess  and  bur- 
gesses of  their  said  Counties,  Universities,  Cities  and  Boroughs 
respectively,  to  be  chosen  by  such  persons,  and  in  such  manner, 
as  if  several  and  respective  writs  of  summons  to  Parliament,  under 
the  Great  Seal  of  England,  had  issued  and  been  awarded.  And 
in  case  any  of  the  several  Sheriffs,  *  *  *  do  not  before  ten  of  the 
clock  in  the  forenoon  of  the  same  day  wherein  the  several  and  re- 
spective courts  and  places  shall  be  held  or  appointed  for  their 
several  and  respective  Counties,  Universities,  Cities  and  Bor- 


The  Triennial  Act  355 

oughs  as  aforesaid,  begin  and  proceed  on  according  to  the  meaning 
of  this  law,  in  causing  elections  to  be  made  of  such  knight  and 
knights,  citizen  and  citizens,  burgess  and  burgesses,  of  their  said 
Counties,  Universities,  Cities  and  Boroughs  as  aforesaid ;  then  the 
freeholders  of  each  County,  and  the  Masters  and  Scholars  of  every 
the  Universities,  and  the  citizens  and  others  having  voices  in  such 
election  respectively,  in  each  University,  City  and  Borough,  that 
shall  be  assembled  at  the  said  courts  or  places  to  be  held,  or  ap- 
pointed, as  aforesaid,  shall  forthwith,  without  further  warrant  or  di- 
rection, proceed  to  the  election  of  such  knight  or  knights,  citizen 
or  citizens,  burgess  or  burgesses  aforesaid,  in  such  manner  as  is 
usual  in  cases  of  writs  of  summons  issued  and  awarded. 

V.  And  it  is  further  enacted  that  the  several  and  respective 
sheriffs  of  their  several  and  respective  counties,  and  the  Consta- 
ble of  the  Castle  of  Dover,  and  Lord  Warden  of  the  Cinque  Ports, 
or  his  lieutenant  for  the  time  being  respectively,  shall  after  the  said 
23rd  day  of  January,  and  before  the  8th  day  of  February  then 
immediately  next  ensuing,  award  and  send  forth  their  precepts  to 
the  several  and  respective  cities  and  boroughs  within  their  several 
counties,  and  likewise  unto  the  said  Cinque  Ports  respectively, 
commanding  them  respectively  to  make  choice  of  such  citizen  and 
citizens,  barons,  burgess  and  burgesses,  to  serve  in  the  said  Parlia- 
ment, at  the  time  and  place  aforesaid  :  which  said  Cities,  Cinque 
Ports  and  Boroughs  respectively,  shall  before  the  last  day  of  the 
said  month  of  February  make  election  of  such  citizen  and  citizens, 
barons,  burgess  and  burgesses,  as  if  writs  for  summoning  of  a  Par- 
liament, under  the  Great  Seal  of  England,  had  issued  and  been 
awarded.  And  in  case  no  such  precept  shall  come  unto  the  said 
Cities,  Cinque  Ports  and  Boroughs  respectively,  by  the  time  herein 
limited  :  or  in  case  any  precept  shall  come,  and  no  election  be 
made  thereupon,  before  the  said  last  day  of  February,  that  then 
the  several  citizens,  burgesses,  and  other  persons  that  ought  to 
elect  and  send  citizens,  barons,  and  burgesses  to  the  Parliament, 
shall  on  the  first  Tuesday  in  March  then  next  ensuing  the  said  last 
day  of  February  make  choice  of  such  citizen  and  citizens,  barons, 
burgess  and  burgesses,  as  if  a  writ  of  summons  under  the  Great 
Seal  of  England  had  issued  and  been  awarded,  and  precepts  there- 
upon issued,  to  such  Cities,  Cinque  Ports  and  Boroughs  :  which 
knights,  citizens,  barons  and  burgesses  so  chosen  shall  appear  and 
serve  in  Parliament  at  the  time  and  place  aforesaid,  and  shall  each 
of  them  be  liable  unto  such  pains  and  censures  for  his  and  their 
not  appearing  and  serving  then  and  there  in  Parliament,  as  if  he 
or  they  had  been  elected  and  chosen  by  virtue  of  a  writ  under  the 


356  English  Constitutional  Documents 

Great  Seal  of  England,  and  shall  be  likewise  subject  unto  such 
further  pains  and  censures  for  his  and  their  not  appearing  and 
serving  then  and  there  in  Parliament,  as  if  he  or  they  had  been 
elected  and  chosen  by  virtue  of  a  writ  under  the  Great  Seal  of 
England,  as  by  the  rest  of  the  knights,  citizens  and  burgesses  as- 
sembled in  the  Commons  House  of  Parliament,  he  or  they  shall  be 
adjudged  unto.  And  the  sheriffs  and  other  officers  and  persons  to 
whom  it  appertaineth  shall  make  returns,  and  accept  and  receive 
the  returns  of  such  elections  in  like  manner  as  if  writs  of  summons 
had  issued,  and  been  executed,  as  hath  been  used  and  accustomed  : 
and  in  default  of  the  sheriffs  and  other  officers  respectively,  in  not 
accepting  or  making  return  of  such  elections,  it  shall  and  may  be 
'awful  to  and  for  the  several  freeholders,  and  other  persons  that 
have  elected,  to  make  returns  of  the  knights,  citizens,  barons  and 
burgesses  by  them  elected,  which  shall  be  as  good  and  effectual  to 
all  intents  and  purposes  as  if  the  sheriff  or  other  officers  had 
received  a  writ  of  summons  for  a  Parliament,  and  had  made  such 
returns  :  and  that  such  elections,  precepts  and  returns  shall  be  had 
and  made  at  such  times,  by  such  persons,  and  in  such  manner,  as 
before  in  this  Act  is  expressed  and  declared,  according  to  the  true 
intent  and  meaning  of  this  law ;  any  writ,  proclamation,  edict,  act, 
restraint,  inhibition,  order  or  warrant  to  the  contrary  in  any  wise 
notwithstanding.  And  in  case  any  person  or  persons  shall  be  so 
hardy  to  advise,  frame,  contrive,  serve  or  put  in  execution  any  such 
writs,  proclamation,  edict,  act,  restraint,  inhibition,  order  or  warrant 
thereupon,  then  he  or  they  so  offending  shall  incur  and  sustain  the 
pains,  penalties  and  forfeitures  limited,  ordained  and  provided  in 
and  by  the  Statute  of  Provision  and  Praemunire  made  in  the  i6th 
year  of  King  Richard  the  Second,  and  shall  from  thenceforth  be 
disabled,  during  his  life,  to  sue  and  implead  any  person  in  any 
action  real  or  personal,  or  to  make  any  gift,  grant,  conveyance,  or 
other  disposition  of  any  his  lands,  tenements,  hereditaments,  goods 
or  chattels  which  he  hath  to  his  own  use,  either  by  act  executed  in 
his  lifetime,  or  by  his  last  will,  or  otherwise,  or  to  take  any  gift, 
conveyance,  or  legacy  to  his  own  use :  and  if  any  Sheriff,  Consta- 
ble of  the  Castle  of  Dover,  or  Lord  Warden  of  the  Cinque  Ports, 
shall  not  perform  his  duty  enjoined  by  this  Act,  then  he  shall  lose 
and  forfeit  the  sum  of  j£iooo,  and  every  County,  City,  Cinque 
Port  and  Borough  that  shall  not  make  election  of  their  knights, 
citizens,  barons  and  burgesses,  respectively,  shall  incur  the  penal- 
ties following  (that  is  to  say)  every  County  the  sum  of  ^1000, 
and  every  City,  which  is  no  County,  ^200,  and  every  Cinque  Port 
and  Borough  the  sum  of  £100 ;  all  and  every  of  which  several 


The  Triennial  Act  357 

forfeitures,  and  all  other  forfeitures  in  this  Act  mentioned,  shall 
and  may  be  recovered  in  any  of  the  King's  Courts  of  Record  at 
Westminster,  without  naming  the  Christian  name  and  surname  of 
the  said  Mayor  for  the  time  being,  by  action  of  debt,  bill,  plaint  or 
information,  wherein  no  essoine,  protection,  wager  of  law,  aid, 
prayer,  privilege,  injunction,  or  order  of  restraint,  shall  be  in  any 
wise  prayed,  granted  or  allowed,  nor  any  more  than  one  impar- 
lance  :  and  if  any  person  after  notice  given  that  the  action  depend- 
ing is  grounded  and  prosecuted  upon  or  by  virtue  of  this  Statute 
shall  cause  or  procure  any  such  action  to  be  stayed  or  delayed 
before  judgment  by  colour  or  means  of  any  order,  warrant,  power 
or  authority,  save  only  of  the  court  wherein  such  action  as  afore- 
said shall  be  brought  or  depending,  or  after  judgment  had  upon 
such  action,  shall  cause  or  procure  the  execution  of,  or  upon  any 
such  judgment,  to  be  stayed  or  delayed  by  colour  or  means  of  any 
order,  warrant,  power  or  authority,  save  only  by  writ  of  error  or 
attaint,  that  then  the  said  persons  so  offending  shall  incur  and  sus- 
tain all  and  every  the  pains,  penalties  and  forfeitures,  limited,  or- 
dained and  provided  in  and  by  the  said  Statute  of  Provision  and 
Praemunire,  made  in  the  i6th  of  King  Richard  the  Second.  And 
if  any  Lord  Mayor  of  London  shall  at  any  time  hereafter  commence 
or  prefer  any  such  suit,  action  or  information,  and  shall  happen  to 
die  or  be  removed  out  of  his  office  before  recovery  and  execution 
had,  that  yet  no  such  action,  suit  or  information,  sued,  commenced 
or  preferred,  shall  by  such  displacing  or  death  be  abated,  discon- 
tinued or  ended,  but  that  it  shall  and  may  be  lawful  to  and  for  the 
Lord  Mayor  of  the  City  of  London  next  succeeding  in  that  office 
and  place,  to  prosecute,  pursue  and  follow  all  and  every  such  action, 
bill,  plaint  or  information  for  the  causes  aforesaid,  so  hanging  and 
depending  in  such  manner  and  form,  and  to  all  intents  and  pur- 
poses, as  that  Lord  Mayor  might  have  done,  which  first  com- 
menced or  preferred  the  same.  The  fifth  part  of  all  and  every  the 
forfeitures  in  this  Act  mentioned,  shall  go  and  be,  to,  and  for  the 
use  and  behoof  of  the  City  of  London,  and  the  other  four  parts  and 
residue  to  be  employed  and  disposed  to,  and  for  such  only  uses, 
intents  and  purposes  as  by  the  knights,  citizens  and  burgesses  in 
Parliament  assembled,  shall  be  declared,  directed  and  appointed. 
Provided  that  in  case  the  freeholders  of  any  County  and  inhabit- 
ants, or  other  persons  having  or  claiming  power  to  make  election 
of  any  knights,  citizens,  barons  or  burgesses,  shall  proceed  to  mak- 
ing of  election  of  then-  knights,  citizens,  barons  and  burgesses, 
which  election  shall  afterwards  fall  out  to  be  adjudged  or  declared 
void  in  law  by  the  House  of  Commons,  by  reason  of  equality  of 


358  English  Constitutional  Documents 

voices  or  misdemeanour  of  any  person  whatsover,  then  the  said 
County,  City,  Cinque  Port  or  Borough  shall  not  incur  the  penal- 
ties in  this  law,  so  as  an  election  de  facto  be  made. 

VI.  And  it  is  further  enacted  that  no  Parliament  henceforth  to 
be  assembled  shall  be  dissolved  or  prorogued  within  fifty  days  at 
least  after  the  time  appointed  for  the  meeting  thereof,  unless  it  be 
by  assent  of  His   Majesty,  his  heirs  or  successors,  and  of  both 
Houses  in  Parliament  assembled ;  and  that  neither  the  House  of 
Peers  nor  the  House  of  Commons  shall  be  adjourned  within  fifty 
days  at  least  after  the  meeting  thereof,  unless  it  be  by  the  free 
consent  of  every  the  said  Houses  respectively. 

VII.  And  be  it  further  enacted  and  declared  by  authority  of 
this  present  Parliament,  that  the  Peers  to  be  assembled  at  any 
Parliament  by  virtue  of  this  Act,  shall  and  may  from  time  to  time, 
at  any  time  during  such  their  assembly  in  Parliament,  choose  and 
declare  such  person  to  be  Speaker  for  the  said  Peers  as  they  shall 
think  fit.     And  likewise  that  the  said  knights,  citizens  and  bur- 
gesses to  be  assembled  at  any  Parliament  by  virtue  of  this  Act,  shall 
ind  may  from  time  to  time,  at  any  time  during  such  their  assem- 
bly in  Parliament,  choose  and  declare  one  of  themselves  to  be 
Speaker  for  the  said  knights,  citizens  and  burgesses  of  the  House 
of  Commons  assembled  in  the  said  Parliament  as  they  shall  think 
fit ;  which  said  Speakers,  and  every  of  them,  as  well  for  the  said 
Peers  as  for  the  said  House  of  Commons  respectively,  shall,  by 
virtue  of  this  Act,  be  perfect  and  complete  Speakers  for  the  said 
Houses  respectively,  and  shall  have  as  full  and  large  power,  juris- 
diction and  privileges,  to  all  intents  and  purposes,  as  any  Speaker 
or  Speakers  of  either  of  the  said  Houses  respectively,  heretofore 
have  had  or  enjoyed. 

VIII.  And  it  is  further  enacted  and  declared,  that  all  Parlia- 
ments hereafter  to  be  assembled  by  authority  of  this  Act  and 
every  member  thereof  shall  have  and  enjoy  all  rights,  privileges, 
jurisdictions  and  immunities,  as  any  Parliament  summoned  by  writ 
under  the  Great  Seal  of  England,  or  any  member  thereof  might  or 
ought  to  have ;    and  all  and  every  the   members  that   shall   be 
elected  and  chosen  to  serve  in  any  Parliament  hereafter  to  be 
assembled  by  authority  of  this  Act  as  aforesaid,  shall  assemble  and 
meet  in  the  Commons  House  of  Parliament,  and  shall  enter  into 
the  same,  and  have  voices  in  such  Parliament  before  and  without 
the  taking  of  the  several  oaths  of  supremacy  and  allegiance,  or 
either  of  them,  any  law  or  statute  to  the  contrary  thereof  in  any 
wise  notwithstanding. 

IX.  Provided  always,  that  if  the  King's  Majesty,  his  heirs  or 


The  Protestation  359 

successors,  shall  at  any  time  during  any  Parliament  hereafter  to  be 
assembled  by  authority  of  this  Act  as  aforesaid,  award  or  direct 
any  commission  or  commissions  unto  any  person  or  persons  what- 
soever, thereby  giving  power  and  authority  to  him  or  them  to  take 
and  receive  the  oath  of  supremacy  and  allegiance,  of  all  or  any  the 
members  of  the  Commons  House  of  Parliament,  and  any  the 
members  of  that  House  being  duly  required  thereunto,  shall  refuse 
or  neglect  to  take  and  pronounce  the  same,  that  from  thenceforth 
such  person  so  refusing  or  neglecting  shall  be  deemed  no  member 
of  that  House,  nor  shall  have  any  voice  therein,  and  shall  suffer 
such  pains  and  penalties  as  if  he  had  presumed  to  sit  in  the  same 
House  without  election,  return  or  authority. 

X.  And  it  is  likewise  provided  and  enacted,  that  this  Statute 
shall  be  publicly  read   yearly  at  every  General  Sessions  of  the 
Peace,  to  be  held  next  after  the  Epiphany,  and  every  Assizes  then 
next  ensuing  by  the  Clerk  of  the  Peace  and  Clerk  of  the  Assizes 
for  the  time  being  respectively.     And  if  they  or  either  of  them 
shall  neglect  or  fail  to  do  the  same  accordingly,  then  such  party  so 
neglecting  or  failing  shall  forfeit  the  sum  of  one  hundred  pounds. 

XI.  And  it  is  lastly  provided  and  enacted,  that  His  Majesty's 
royal  assent  to  this  Bill  shall  not  thereby  determine  this  present 
Session  of  Parliament,  and  that  all  statutes  and  Acts  of  Parliament 
which  are  to  have  continuance  unto  the  end  of  this  present  Session, 
shall  be  of  full  force  after  His  Majesty's  assent,  until  this  present 
Session  be  fully  ended  and  determined ;  and  if  this  present  Session 
shall  determine  by  dissolution  of  this  present  Parliament,  then  all 
the  Acts  and  statutes  aforesaid  shall  be  continued  until  the  end  of 
the  first  Session  of  the  next  Parliament. 


196.    The  Protestation 

(1641,  May  3.     Rushworth,YiiL  735.    Gardiner,  155, 1561) 

"1TITE  the  knights,  citizens  and  burgesses  of  the  Commons  House 
V  V  in  Parliament,  finding  to  the  grief  of  our  hearts  that  the  designs 
of  the  Priests  and  Jesuits,  and  other  adherents  to  the  See  of  Rome, 
have  of  late  been  more  boldly  and  frequently  put  in  practice  than 
formerly,  to  the  undermining  and  danger  of  the  true  reformed 
Protestant  religion  in  His  Majesty's  dominions  established ;  and 
finding  also  that  there  hath  been,  and  having  just  cause  to  suspect 
there  still  are,  even  during  the  sittings  in  Parliament,  endeavours 


360  English  Constitutional  Documents 

to  subvert  the  fundamental  laws  of  England  and  Ireland,  and  to 
introduce  the  exercise  of  an  arbitrary  and  tyrannical  government 
by  most  pernicious  and  wicked  counsels,  practices,  plots  and  con- 
spiracies ;  and  that  the  long  intermission  and  unhappier  breach  of 
Parliaments  hath  occasioned  many  illegal  taxations,  whereby  the 
subjects  have  been  prosecuted  and  grieved ;  and  that  divers  inno- 
vations and  superstitions  have  been  brought  into  the  Church, 
multitudes  driven  out  of  His  Majesty's  dominions,  jealousies  raised 
and  fomented  between  the  King  and  his  people,  a  Popish  army 
levied  in  Ireland,  and  two  armies  brought  into  the  bowels  of  this 
kingdom,  to  the  hazard  of  His  Majesty's  royal  person,  the  con- 
sumption of  the  revenue  of  the  crown  and  the  treasure  of  this 
realm  ;  and  lastly,  finding  the  great  cause  of  jealousy,  that  endeav- 
ours have  been,  and  are  used,  to  bring  the  English  army  into  a 
misunderstanding  of  this  Parliament,  thereby  to  incline  that  army 
by  force  to  bring  to  pass  those  wicked  counsels ;  have  therefore 
thought  good  to  join  ourselves  in  a  Declaration  of  our  united 
affections  and  resolutions  and  to  make  this  ensuing  Protesta- 
tion :  — 

I,  A.  B.,  do,  in  the  presence  of  God,  promise,  vow  and  protest  to 
maintain  and  defend,  as  far  as  lawfully  I  may,  with  my  life,  power 
and  estate,  the  true  reformed  Protestant  religion  expressed  in  the 
doctrine  of  the  Church  of  England,  against  all  Popery  and  popish 
innovation  within  this  realm,  contrary  to  the  said  doctrine,  and 
according  to  the  duty  of  my  allegiance  I  will  maintain  and 
defend  His  Majesty's  royal  person  and  estate ;  as  also  the  power 
and  privilege  of  Parliaments,  the  lawful  rights  and  liberties  of 
the  subjects,  and  every  person  that  shall  make  this  Protestation 
in  whatsoever  he  shall  do,  in  the  lawful  pursuance  of  the  same ; 
and  to  my  power,  as  far  as  .lawfully  I  may,  I  will  oppose,  and  by 
all  good  ways  and  means  endeavour  to  bring  to  condign  pun- 
ishment all  such  as  shall  by  force,  practice,  counsels,  plots,  con- 
spiracies or  otherwise  do  anything  to  the  contrary  in  this  present 
Protestation  contained  :  and  further,  that  I  shall  in  all  jnst  and 
honourable  ways  endeavour  to  preserve  the  union  and  peace  be- 
twixt the  three  kingdoms  of  England,  Scotland  and  Ireland,  and 
neither  for  hope,  fear  or  any  other  respects,  shall  relinquish  this 
promise,  vow  and  protestation. 


Act  for  the  Attainder  of  Strafford          361 


197.    Act  for  the  Attainder  of  Strafford 

(1641,  May  n.    16  Charles  I.  Private  Acts  c.  i.     5  £  R  177.    Gardiner, 
156-158.) 

WHEREAS  the  knights,  citizens  and  burgesses  of  the  House  of 
Commons  in  this  present  Parliament  assembled,  have,  in  the 
name  of  themselves  and  of  all  the  Commons  of  England,  impeached 
Thomas,  earl  of  Strafford,  of  high  treason,  for  endeavouring  to  sub- 
vert the  ancient  and  fundamental  laws  and  government  of  His 
Majesty's  realms  of  England  and  Ireland,  and  to  introduce  an 
arbitrary  and  tyrannical  government,  against  law,  hi  the  said  king- 
doms, and  for  exercising  a  tyrannous  and  exorbitant  power  over 
and  against  the  laws  of  the  said  kingdoms,  and  the  liberties,  estates 
and  lives  of  His  Majesty's  subjects ;  and  likewise  having  by  his 
own  authority  commanded  the  laying  and  assessing  of  soldiers 
upon  His  Majesty's  subjects  in  Ireland,  against  their  consents,  to 
compel  them  to  obey  his  unlawful  summons  and  orders,  made  upon 
paper  petitions  hi  causes  between  party  and  party,  which  accord- 
ingly was  executed  upon  divers  of  His  Majesty's  subjects  in  a  warlike 
manner  within  the  said  realm  of  Ireland ;  and  in  so  doing  did  levy 
war  against  the  King's  Majesty  and  his  liege-people  in  that  king- 
dom ;  and  also  for  that  he,  upon  the  unhappy  dissolution  of  the  last 
Parliament,  did  slander  the  House  of  Commons  to  His  Majesty: 
and  did  counsel  and  advise  His  Majesty  that  he  was  loose  and 
absolved  from  rules  of  government ;  and  that  he  had  an  army  in 
Ireland  which  he  might  employ  to  reduce  this  kingdom,  for  which 
he  deserves  to  undergo  the  pains  and  forfeitures  of  high  treason ; 
and  the  said  earl  hath  also  been  an  incendiary  of  the  wars  between 
the  two  kingdoms  of  England  and  Scotland,  all  which  offences 
have  been  sufficiently  proved  against  the  said  earl  upon  his 
impeachment : 

Be  it  therefore  enacted  by  the  King's  Most  Excellent  Majesty, 
and  by  the  Lords  and  Commons  in  this  present  Parliament  assem- 
bled, and  by  the  authority  of  the  same,  that  the  said  earl  of  Straf- 
ford, for  the  heinous  crimes  and  offences  aforesaid,  stand,  and  be 
adjudged  and  attainted  of  high  treason,  and  shall  suffer  such  pains 
of  death,  and  incur  the  forfeitures  of  his  goods  and  chattels,  lands, 
tenements  and  hereditaments  of  any  estate  of  freehold  or  inherit- 
ance in  the  said  kingdoms  of  England  and  Ireland,  which  the 
said  earl  or  any  other  to  his  use,  or  in  trust  for  him,  have  or  had, 
the  day  of  the  first  sitting  of  this  Parliament,  or  at  any  time  since ; 


362  English  Constitutional  Documents 

Provided  that  no  judge  or  judges,  justice  or  justices  whatsoever, 
shall  adjudge  or  interpret  any  act  or  thing  to  be  treason,  nor  hear 
or  determine  any  treason  in  any  other  manner  than  he  or  they 
should  or  ought  to  have  done  before  the  making  of  this  Act,  and  as 
if  this  Act  had  never  been  had  or  made ;  saving  always  unto  all  and 
singular  persons,  bodies  politic  and  corporate,  their  heirs  and  suc- 
cessors, others  than  the  said  earl  and  his  heirs,  and  such  as  claim 
from,  by,  or  under  him,  all  such  right,  title  and  interest  of,  in,  and  to 
all  and  singular  such  of  the  lands,  tenements  and  hereditaments,  as 
he,  they,  or  any  of  them  had  before  the  first  day  of  this  present 
Parliament,  anything  herein  contained  to  the  contrary  notwith- 
standing ; 

Provided  that  the  passing  of  this  present  Act,  or  His  Majesty's 
assent  thereunto,  shall  not  be  any  determination  of  this  present 
Sessions  of  Parliament ;  but  that  this  present  Sessions  of  Parlia- 
ment, and  all  Bills  and  matters  whatsoever  depending  in  Parlia- 
ment, and  not  fully  enacted  or  determined,  and  all  statutes  and 
Acts  of  Parliament  which  have  their  continuance  until  the  end  of 
this  present  Sessions  of  Parliament,  shall  remain,  continue,  and  be 
in  full  force,  as  if  this  Act  had  not  been. 


198.    Act  against   Dissolving  the  Long  Parlia- 
ment without  its  own  Consent 

(1641,  May  ii.     16  Charles  I.  c.  7.    5  S.  R.  103.     Gardiner,  158,  159.) 

"\  1  7HEREAS  great  sums  of  money  must  of  necessity  be  speedily 
»  V  advanced  and  provided  for  the  relief  of  His  Majesty's  army 
and  people  in  the  northern  parts  of  this  realm,  and  for  preventing 
the  imminent  danger  it  is  in,  and  for  supply  of  other  His  Majesty's 
present  and  urgent  occasions,  which  cannot  be  so  timely  effected 
as  is  requisite  without  credit  for  raising  the  said  monies ;  which 
credit  cannot  be  obtained  until  such  obstacles  be  first  removed 
as  are  occasioned  by  fears,  jealousies  and  apprehensions  of  divers 
His  Majesty's  loyal  subjects,  that  this  present  Parliament  may  be 
adjourned,  prorogued,  or  dissolved,  before  justice  shall  be  duly  exe- 
cuted upon  delinquents,  public  grievances  redressed,  a  firm  peace 
between  the  two  nations  of  England  and  Scotland  concluded,  and 
before  sufficient  provision  be  made  for  the  re-payment  of  the  said 
monies  so  to  be  raised ;  all  which  the  Commons  in  this  present 


Act  Abolishing  Court  of  Star  Chamber      363 

Parliament  assembled,  having  duly  considered,  do  therefore  most 
humbly  beseech  your  Majesty  that  it  may  be  declared  and  enacted  : 
And  be  it  declared  and  enacted  by  the  King,  our  Sovereign 
Lord,  with  the  assent  of  the  Lords  and  Commons  in  this  present 
Parliament  assembled,  and  by  the  authority  of  the  same,  that  this 
present  Parliament  now  assembled  shall  not  be  dissolved  unless  it 
be  by  Act  of  Parliament  to  be  passed  for  that  purpose  ;  nor  shall 
be,  at  any  time  or  times,  during  the  continuance  thereof,  prorogued 
or  adjourned,  unless  it  be  by  Act  of  Parliament  to  be  likewise  passed 
for  that  purpose  ;  and  that  the  House  of  Peers  shall  not  at  any 
time  or  times  during  this  present  Parliament  be  adjourned,  unless 
it  be  by  themselves  or  by  their  own  order ;  and  in  like  manner, 
that  the  House  of  Commons  shall  not,  at  any  time  or  times,  during 
this  present  Parliament,  be  adjourned,  unless  it  be  by  themselves 
or  by  their  own  order ;  and  that  all  and  every  thing  or  things  what- 
soever done  or  to  be  done  for  the  adjournment,  proroguing,  or  dis- 
solving of  this  present  Parliament,  contrary  to  this  Act,  shall  be 
utterly  void  and  of  none  effect. 


199.    Act  for  the  Abolition  of  the  Court  of  Star 
Chamber 

(1641,  July  5.     16  Charles  I.  c.  10.     5  S.  R.  no.    The  whole  act  reprinted 
in  Gardiner,  179-186.) 

"II  7"HEREAS  by  the  Great  Charter  many  times  confirmed  in 
»  •  Parliament,  it  is  enacted  that  no  freeman  shall  be  taken  or 
imprisoned,  or  disseised  of  his  freehold  or  liberties  or  free 
customs,  or  be  outlawed  or  exiled  or  otherwise  destroyed,  and 
that  the  King  will  not  pass  upon  him  or  condemn  him  but  by  law- 
ful judgment  of  his  peers  or  by  the  law  of  the  land  ;  and  by  an- 
other statute  made  in  the  fifth  year  of  the  reign  of  King  Edward 
the  Third,  it  is  enacted  that  no  man  shall  be  attached  by  any 
accusation  nor  forejudged  of  life  or  limb,  nor  his  lands,  tenements, 
goods  nor  chattels  seised  into  the  King's  hands  against  the  form 
of  the  Great  Charter  and  the  law  of  the  land;  and  by  another 
statute  made  in  the  five-and-twentieth  year  of  the  reign  of  the 
same  King  Edward  the  Third,  it  is  accorded,  assented  and  estab- 
lished, that  none  shall  be  taken  by  petition  or  suggestion  made  to  the 
King  or  to  his  Council,  unless  it  be  by  indictment  or  presentment 
of  good  and  lawful  people  of  the  same  neighbourhood  where  such 
deeds  be  done,  in  due  manner  or  by  process  made  by  writ  origi- 


364          English  Constitutional  Documents 

nal  at  the  common  law,  and  that  none  be  put  out  of  his  franchise 
or  freehold  unless  he  be  duly  brought  in  to  answer  and  forejudged 
of  the  same  by  the  course  of  the  law,  and  if  anything  be  done 
against  the  same,  it  shall  be  redressed  and  holden  for  none ;  and 
by  another  statute  made  in  the  eight-and-twentieth  year  of  the 
reign  of  the  same  King  Edward  the  Third,  it  is  amongst  other 
things  enacted,  that  no  man  of  what  estate  or  condition  soever  he 
be  shall  be  put  out  of  his  lands  or  tenements,  nor  taken  nor  im- 
prisoned nor  disinherited  without  being  brought  in  to  answer  by 
due  process  of  law;  and  by  another  statute  made  in  the  two-and- 
fortieth  year  of  the  reign  of  the  said  King  Edward  the  Third,  it  is 
enacted,  that  no  man  be  put  to  answer  without  presentment  before 
Justices  or  matter  of  record,  or  by  due  process  and  writ  original 
according  to  the  old  law  of  the  land,  and  if  anything  be  done  to 
the  contrary,  it  shall  be  void  in  law  and  holden  for  error ;  and  by 
another  statute  made  in  the  six-and-thirtieth  year  of  the  same 
King  Edward  the  Third,  it  is  amongst  other  things  enacted,  that 
all  pleas  which  shall  be  pleaded  in  any  Courts  before  any  of  the 
King's  Justices,  or  in  his  other  places,  or  before  any  of  his  other 
ministers,  or  in  the  Courts  and  places  of  any  other  Lords  within 
the  realm,  shall  be  entered  and  enrolled  in  Latin ;  and  whereas 
by  the  statute  made  in  the  third  year  of  King  Henry  the  Seventh, 
power  is  given  to  the  Chancellor,  the  Lord  Treasurer  of  England 
for  the  time  being,  and  the  Keeper  of  the  King's  Privy  Seal,  or 
two  of  them,  calling  unto  them  a  Bishop  and  a  Temporal  Lord  of 
the  King's  most  honourable  Council,  and  the  two  Chief  Justices 
of  the  King's  Bench  and  Common  Pleas  for  the  time  being,  or 
other  two  Justices  in  their  absence,  to  proceed  as  in  that  Act  is 
expressed  for  the  punishment  of  some  particular  offences  therein 
mentioned ;  and  by  the  statute  made  in  the  one-and-twentieth 
year  of  King  Henry  the  Eighth,  the  President  of  the  Council  is 
associated  to  join  with  the  Lord  Chancellor  and  other  Judges  in  the 
said  statute  of  the  third  of  Henry  the  Seventh  mentioned  :  but 
the  said  Judges  have  not  kept  themselves  to  the  points  limited  by 
the  said  statute,  but  have  undertaken  to  punish  where  no  law  doth 
warrant,  and  to  make  decrees  for  things  having  no  such  authority, 
and  to  inflict  heavier  punishments  than  by  any  law  is  warranted  ; 

II.  Forasmuch  as  all  matters  examinable  or  determinable  before 
the  said  Judges,  or  in  the  Court  commonly  called  the  Star  Cham- 
ber, may  have  their  proper  remedy  and  redress,  and  their  due 
punishment  and  correction,  by  the  common  law  of  the  land,  and 
in  the  ordinary  course  of  justice  elsewhere ;  and  forasmuch  as  the 
reasons  and  motives  inducing  the  erection  and  continuance  of  that 


Act  Abolishing  Court  of  Star  Chamber      365 

Court  do  now  cease ;  and  the  proceedings,  censures  and  decrees 
of  that  Court  have  by  experience  been  found  to  be  an  intolerable 
burden  to  the  subjects,  and  the  means  to  introduce  an  arbitrary 
power  and  government ;  and  forasmuch  as  the  Council  Table  hath 
of  late  times  assumed  unto  itself  a  power  to  intermeddle  in  civil 
causes  and  matters  only  of  private  interest  between  party  and 
party,  and  have  adventured  to  determine  of  the  estates  and  liber- 
ties of  the  subject,  contrary  to  the  law  of  the  land  and  the  rights 
and  privileges  of  the  subject,  by  which  great  and  manifold  mis- 
chiefs and  inconveniences  have  arisen  and  happened,  and  much 
uncertainty  by  means  of  such  proceedings  hath  been  conceived 
concerning  men's  rights  and  estates  :  for  settling  whereof  and  pre- 
venting the  like  in  time  to  come  : 

III.  Be   it   ordained   and   enacted   by   the   authority   of  this 
present   Parliament,  that   the  said  Court   commonly  called   the 
Star  Chamber,  and  all  jurisdiction,  power  and  authority  belonging 
unto  or  exercised  in  the  same  Court,  or  by  any  of  the  Judges, 
Officers  or  Ministers  thereof,  be  from  the  first  day  of  August  in 
the  year  of  our  Lord  God  one  thousand  six  hundred  forty  and 
one,  clearly  and  absolutely  dissolved,  taken  away,  and  determined ; 
and   that  from  the  said  first  day  of  August  neither  the  Lord 
Chancellor  or  Keeper  of  the  Great  Seal  of  England,  the  Lord 
Treasurer  of  England,  the  Keeper  of  the  King's  Privy  Seal,  or 
President  of  the  Council,  nor  any  Bishop,  Temporal  Lord,  Privy 
Councillor,  or  Judge,  or  Justice  whatsoever,  shall  have  any  power 
or  authority  to  hear,  examine  or  determine  any  matter  or  thing 
whatsoever  in  the  said  Court  commonly  called  the  Star  Chamber, 
or  to  make,  pronounce  or  deliver  any  judgment,  sentence,  order 
or  decree,  or  to  do  any  judicial  or  ministerial  act  in  the  said 
Court;   and   that   all   and   every  Act  and   Acts   of  Parliament, 
and   all   and   every  article,  clause,  and   sentence   in   them   and 
every  of  them,  by  which  any  jurisdiction,  power  or  authority  is 
given,  limited  or  appointed  unto  the  said  Court,  commonly  called 
the  Star  Chamber,  or  unto  all  or  any  the  Judges,  Officers  or  Min- 
isters thereof,  or  for  any  proceedings  to  be  had  or  made  in  the 
said  Court,  or  for  any  matter  or  thing  to  be  drawn  into  question, 
examined  or  determined  there,  shall,  for  so  much  as  concerneth 
the  said  Court  of  Star  Chamber,  and  the  power  and  authority 
thereby  given  unto  it  be,  from  the  said  first  day  of  August,  re- 
pealed and  absolutely  revoked  and  made  void. 

IV.  And  be  it  likewise  enacted,  that  the  like  jurisdiction  now 
used  and  exercised  in  the  Court  before  the  President  and  Council 
in  the  Marches  of  Wales ;  and  also  in  the  Court  before  the  Presi- 


366  English  Constitutional  Documents 

dent  and  Council  established  in  the  northern  parts ;  and  also  in 
the  Court  commonly  called  the  Court  of  the  Duchy  of  Lancaster, 
held  before  the  Chancellor  and  Council  of  that  Court ;  and  also  in 
the  Court  of  Exchequer  of  the  County  Palatine  of  Chester,  held 
before  the  Chamberlain  and  Council  of  that  Court ;  the  like  juris- 
diction being  exercised  there,  shall,  from  the  said  first  day  of 
August  one  thousand  six  hundred  forty  and  one,  be  also  repealed 
and  absolutely  revoked  and  made  void,  any  law,  prescription,  cus- 
tom or  usage  ;  or  the  said  statute  made  in  the  third  year  of  King 
Henry  the  Seventh  ;  or  the  statute  made  in  the  one-and-twentieth 
of  Henry  the  Eighth ;  or  any  Act  or  Acts  of  Parliament  hereto- 
fore had  or  made,  to  the  contrary  thereof  in  any  wise  notwith- 
standing ;  and  that  from  henceforth  no  court,  council,  or  place  of 
judicature  shall  be  erected,  ordained,  constituted,  or  appointed 
within  this  realm  of  England  or  dominion  of  Wales,  which  shall 
have,  use  or  exercise  the  same  or  the  like  jurisdiction,  as  is  or 
hath  been  used,  practised  or  exercised  in  the  said  Court  of  Star 
Chamber. 

V.  Be  it  likewise  declared  and  enacted  by  authority  of  this 
present  Parliament,  that  neither  His  Majesty  nor  his  Privy  Coun- 
cil have  or  ought  to  have  any  jurisdiction,  power  or  authority  by 
English  bill,  petition,  articles,  libel,  or  any  other  arbitrary  way 
whatsoever,  to  examine  or  draw  into  question,  determine  or  dis- 
pose of  the  lands,  tenements,  hereditaments,  goods  or  chattels  of 
any  the  subjects  of  this  kingdom,  but  that  the  same  ought  to  be 
tried  and  determined  in  the  ordinary  Courts  of  Justice  and  by  the 
ordinary  course  of  the  law. 


200.     Act  for  the  Abolition  of  the  Court  of 
High  Commission 

(1641,  Julys-     16  Charles  I.  c.  ii.     $  S.  J?.  112.     Gardiner,  186-189.) 

WHEREAS  in  the  Parliament  holden  in  the  first  year  of  the 
reign  of  the  late  Queen  Elizabeth,  late  Queen  of  England, 
there  was  an  Act  made  and  established,  entitled  '  An  Act  restoring 
to  the  Crown  the  ancient  jurisdiction  over  the  State  ecclesiastical 
and  spiritual,  and  abolishing  all  foreign  power  repugnant  to  the 
same  ' :  in  which  Act,  amongst  other  things,  there  is  contained  one 
clause,  branch,  article  or  sentence  whereby  it  was  enacted  to  this 


Act  Abolishing  Court  of  High  Commission     367 

effect :  namely,  that  the  said  late  Queen's  Highness,  her  heirs  and 
successors,  Kings  or  Queens  of  this  realm,  should  have  full  power 
and  authority  by  virtue  of  that  Act,  by  Letters  Patents  under  the 
Great  Seal  of  England,  to  assign,  name  and  authorize  when  and 
as  often  as  Her  Highness,  her  heirs  or  successors,  should  think 
meet  and  convenient,  and  for  such  and  so  long  time  as  should 
please  Her  Highness,  her  heirs  or  successors,  such  person  or  per- 
sons being  natural  bom  subjects  to  Her  Highness,  her  heirs  or 
successors,  as  Her  Majesty,  her  heirs  or  successors,  should  think 
meet  to  exercise,  use,  occupy  and  execute  under  Her  Highness, 
her  heirs  and  successors,  all  manner  of  jurisdictions,  privileges  and 
preeminences  in  any  wise  touching  or  concerning  any  spiritual  or 
ecclesiastical  jurisdiction  within  these  her  realms  of  England  and 
Ireland,  or  any  other  Her  Highness's  dominions  and  countries ; 
and  to  visit,  reform,  redress,  order,  correct  and  amend  all  such 
errors,  heresies,  schisms,  abuses,  offences,  contempts  and  enor- 
mities whatsoever,  which  by  any  manner  spiritual  or  ecclesiastical 
power,  authority  or  jurisdiction  can  or  may  lawfully  be  reformed, 
ordered,  redressed,  corrected,  restrained  or  amended,  to  the  pleas- 
ure of  Almighty  God,  the  increase  of  virtue  and  the  conservation 
of  the  peace  and  unity  of  this  realm :  and  that  such  person  or 
persons  so  to  be  named,  assigned,  authorized  and  appointed  by 
Her  Highness,  her  heirs  or  successors,  after  the  said  Letters 
Patents  to  him  or  them  made  and  delivered  as  aforesaid,  should 
have  full  power  and  authority  by  virtue  of  that  Act  and  of  the  said 
Letters  Patents  under  Her  Highness,  her  heirs  or  successors,  to 
exercise,  use  and  execute  all  the  premises,  according  to  the  tenor 
and  effect  of  the  said  Letters  Patents,  any  matter  or  cause  to  the 
contrary  in  any  wise  notwithstanding ; 

II.  And  whereas  by  colour  of  some  words  in  the  aforesaid 
branch  of  the  said  Act,  whereby  Commissioners  are  authorized  to 
execute  their  commission  according  to  the  tenor  and  effect  of  the 
King's  Letters  Patents,  and  by  Letters  Patents  grounded  there- 
upon, the  said  Commissioners  have,  to  the  great  and  insufferable 
wrong  and  oppression  of  the  King's  subjects,  used  to  fine  and 
imprison  them,  and  to  exercise  other  authority  not  belonging  to 
ecclesiastical  jurisdiction  restored  by  that  Act,  and  divers  other 
great  mischiefs  and  inconveniences  have  also  ensued  to  the 
King's  subjects  by  occasion  of  the  said  branch,  and  commissions 
issued  thereupon,  and  the  executions  thereof:  therefore  for  the 
repressing  and  preventing  of  the  aforesaid  abuses,  mischiefs  and 
inconveniences  in  time  to  come : 

HI.   Be  it  enacted  by  the  King's  Most  Excellent  Majesty  and 


368          English  Constitutional  Documents 

the  Lords  and  Commons  in  this  present  Parliament  assembled, 
and  by  the  authority  of  the  same,  that  the  aforesaid  branch, 
clause,  article  or  sentence  contained  in  the  said  Act,  and  every 
word,  matter  and  thing  contained  in  that  branch,  clause,  article 
or  sentence  shall  from  henceforth  be  repealed,  annulled,  revoked, 
annihilated  and  utterly  made  void  for  ever ;  anything  in  the  said 
Act  to  the  contrary  in  any  wise  notwithstanding. 

IV.  And  be  it  also  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  that  no 
Archbishop,  Bishop,  nor  Vicar  General,  nor  any  Chancellor, 
Official,  nor  Commissary  of  any  Archbishop,  Bishop  or  Vicar 
General,  nor  any  ordinary  whatsoever,  nor  any  other  spiritual  or 
ecclesiastical  Judge,  Officer  or  Minister  of  Justice,  nor  any  other 
person  or  persons  whatsoever  exercising  spiritual  or  ecclesiastical 
power,  authority  or  jurisdiction  by  any  grant,  licence  or  commis- 
sion of  the  King's  Majesty,  his  heirs  or  successors,  or  by  any  power 
or  authority  derived  from  the  King,  his  heirs  or  successors,  or  other- 
wise, shall  from  and  after  the  first  day  of  August,  which  shall  be  in 
the  year  of  our  Lord  God  one  thousand  six  hundred  forty  and  one, 
award,  impose  or  inflict  any  pain,  penalty,  fine,  amercement, 
imprisonment  or  other  corporal  punishment  upon  any  of  the 
King's  subjects  for  any  contempt,  misdemeanour,  crime,  offence, 
matter  or  thing  whatsoever  belonging  to  spiritual  or  ecclesiastical 
cognizance  or  jurisdiction ;  or  shall  ex  officio,  or  at  the  instance 
or  promotion  of  any  other  person  whatsoever,  urge,  enforce,  tender, 
give  or  minister  unto  any  churchwarden,  sidesman  or  other  person 
whatsoever  any  corporal  oath,  whereby  he  or  she  shall  or  may  be 
charged  or  obliged  to  make  any  presentment  of  any  crime  or 
offence,  or  to  confess  or  to  accuse  him  or  herself  of  any  crime, 
offence,  delinquency  or  misdemeanour,  or  any  neglect  or  thing 
whereby,  or  by  reason  whereof,  he  or  she  shall  or  may  be  liable 
or  exposed  to  any  censure,  pain,  penalty  or  punishment  whatsoever ; 
upon  pain  and  penalty  that  every  person  who  shall  offend  contrary 
to  this  statute  shall  forfeit  and  pay  treble  damages  to  every  person 
thereby  grieved,  and  the  sum  of  ^100  to  him  or  them  who  shall 
first  demand  and  sue  for  the  same ;  which  said  treble  damages  and 
sum  of  ;£ioo  shall  and  may  be  demanded  and  recovered  by  action 
of  debt,  bill  or  plaint  in  any  Court  of  Record  wherein  no  privilege, 
essoine,  protection  or  wager  of  law  shall  be  admitted  or  allowed 
to  the  defendant.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  that  every  person 
who  shall  be  once  convicted  of  any  act  or  offence  prohibited  by 
this  statute,  shall  for  such  act  or  offence  be  from  and  after  such 
conviction  utterly  disabled  to  be  or  continue  in  any  office  or  em- 
ployment in  any  Court  of  Justice  whatsoever,  or  to  exercise  or 


Act  Declaring  the  Illegality  of  Ship-money     369 

execute  any  power,  authority  or  jurisdiction  by  force  of  any  Com- 
mission or  Letters  Patents  of  the  King,  his  heirs  or  successors. 

V.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  that  from  and  after  the  said  first 
day  of  August,  no  new  Court  shall  be  erected,  ordained  or  appointed 
within  this  realm  of  England  or  dominion  of  Wales,  which  shall 
or  may  have  the  like  power,  jurisdiction  or  authority  as  the 
said  High  Commission  Court  now  hath  or  pretendeth  to  have ; 
but  that  all  and  every  such  Letters  Patents,  Commissions  and 
Grants  made  or  to  be  made  by  His  Majesty,  his  heirs  or  suc- 
cessors, and  all  powers  and  authorities  granted,  or  pretended  or 
mentioned  to  be  granted  thereby,  and  all  acts,  sentences  and 
decrees,  to  be  made  by  virtue  or  colour  thereof  shall  be  utterly 
void  and  of  none  effect. 


20 1.    Act  Declaring  the  Illegality  of  Ship- 
money 

(1641,  August  7.     1 6  Charles  I.  c.  14.     5  S.  J?.  116.     Gardiner,  189-192.) 

WHEREAS  divers  writs  of  late  time  issued  under  the  Great 
Seal  of  England,  commonly  called  Ship-writs,  for  the  charg- 
ing of  the  Ports,  Towns,  Cities,  Boroughs,  and  Counties  of  this 
realm  respectively,  to  provide  and  furnish  certain  ships  for  His 
Majesty's  service;  and  whereas  upon  the  execution  of  the  same 
writs  and  returns  of  certioraries  thereupon  made,  and  the  sending 
the  same  by  Mittimus  into  the  Court  of  Exchequer,  process  hath 
been  thence  made  against  sundry  persons  pretended  to  be  charged 
by  way  of  contribution  for  the  making  up  of  certain  sums  assessed 
for  the  providing  of  the  said  ships  ;  and  in  especial  in  Easter  Term 
in  the  thirteenth  year  of  the  reign  of  our  Sovereign  Lord  the  King 
that  now  is,  a  Writ  of  Scire  facias  was  awarded  out  of  the  Court 
of  Exchequer  to  the  then  Sheriff  of  Buckinghamshire  against  John 
Hampden,  Esquire,  to  appear  and  show  cause  why  he  should  not 
be  charged  with  a  certain  sum  so  assessed  upon  him  :  upon  whose 
appearance  and  demurrer  to  the  proceedings  therein,  the  Barons 
of  the  Exchequer  adjourned  the  same  case  into  the  Exchequer 
Chamber,  where  it  was  solemnly  argued  divers  days  ;  and  at  length 
it  was  there  agreed  by  the  greater  part  of  all  the  Justices  of  the 
Courts  of  King's  Bench  and  Common  Pleas,  and  of  the  Barons  of 
the  Exchequer  there  assembled,  that  the  said  John  Hampden 
should  be  charged  with  the  said  sum  so  as  aforesaid  assessed  on 


370          English  Constitutional  Documents 

him ;  the  main  grounds  and  reasons  of  the  said  Justices  and 
Barons  which  so  agreed  being,  that  when  the  good  and  safety  of 
the  kingdom  in  general  is  concerned,  and  the  whole  kingdom  in 
danger,  the  King  might  by  writ  under  the  Great  Seal  of  England 
command  all  the  subjects  of  this  his  kingdom  at  their  charge  to 
provide  and  furnish  such  number  of  ships  with  men,  victuals  and 
munition,  and  for  such  time  as  the  King  should  think  fit,  for  the 
defence  and  safeguard  of  the  kingdom  from  such  danger  and  peril, 
and  that  by  law  the  King  might  compel  the  doing  thereof  in  case 
of  refusal  or  refractoriness ;  and  that  the  King  is  the  sole  judge 
both  of  the  danger,  and  when  and  how  the  same  is  to  be  pre- 
vented and  avoided  ;  according  to  which  grounds  and  reasons  all 
the  Justices  of  the  said  Courts  of  King's  Bench  and  Common  Pleas, 
and  the  said  Barons  of  the  Exchequer,  having  been  formerly  con- 
sulted with  by  His  Majesty's  command,  had  set  their  hands  to  an 
extrajudicial  opinion  expressed  to  the  same  purpose  ;  which  opinion 
with  their  names  thereunto  was  also  by  His  Majesty's  command 
enrolled  in  the  Courts  of  Chancery,  King's  Bench,  Common  Pleas 
and  Exchequer,  and  likewise  entered  among  the  remembrances  of 
the  Court  of  Star  Chamber ;  and  according  to  the  said  agreement 
of  the  said  Justices  and  Barons,  judgment  was  given  by  the  Barons 
of  the  Exchequer,  that  the  said  John  Hampden  should  be  charged 
with  the  said  sum  so  assessed  on  him  :  and  whereas  some  other 
actions  and  process  depend,  and  have  depended,  in  the  said  Court 
of  Exchequer  and  in  some  other  Courts,  against  other  persons  for 
the  like  kind  of  charge  grounded  upon  the  said  writs  commonly 
called  Ship-writs ;  all  which  writs  and  proceedings  as  aforesaid 
were  utterly  against  the  law  of  the  land  : 

II.  Be  it  therefore  declared  and  enacted  by  the  King's  Most 
Excellent  Majesty  and  the  Lords  and  the  Commons  in  this  present 
Parliament  assembled,  and  by  the  authority  of  the  same,  that  the 
said  charge  imposed  upon  the  subject  for  the  providing  and  fur- 
nishing of  ships,  commonly  called  Ship-money,  and  the  said  extra- 
judicial  opinion  of  the  said  Justices  and  Barons,  and  the  said  writs, 
and  every  of  them,  and  the  said  agreement  or  opinion  of  the 
greater  part  of  the  said  Justices  and  Barons,  and  the  said  judg- 
ment given  against  the  said  John  Hampden,  were  and  are  contrary 
to  and  against  the  laws  and  statutes  of  this  realm,  the  right  of  prop- 
erty, the  liberty  of  the  subjects,  former  resolutions  in  Parliament, 
and  the  Petition  of  Right  made  in  the  third  year  of  the  reign  of 
His  Majesty  that  now  is. 

III.  And  it  is  further  declared  and  enacted  by  the  authority 
aforesaid,  that  all  aud  every  the  particulars  prayed  or  desired  in 


Act  for  the  Limitation  of  Forests          371 

the  said  Petition  of  Right  shall  from  henceforth  be  put  in  execu- 
tion accordingly,  and  shall  be  firmly  and  strictly  holden  and 
observed  as  in  the  same  Petition  they  are  prayed  and  expressed ; 
and  that  all  and  every  the  records  and  remembrances  of  all  and 
every  the  judgment,  enrolments,  entry,  and  proceedings  as  afore- 
said, and  all  and  every  the  proceedings  whatsoever,  upon  or  by 
pretext  or  colour  of  any  of  the  said  writs  commonly  called  Ship- 
writs,  and  all  and  every  the  dependents  on  any  of  them,  shall  be 
deemed  and  adjudged,  to  all  intents,  constructions  and  purposes, 
to  be  utterly  void  and  disannulled ;  and  that  all  and  every  the 
said  judgment,  enrolments,  entries,  proceedings  and  dependents 
of  what  kind  soever,  shall  be  vacated  and  cancelled  in  such  man- 
ner and  form  as  records  use  to  be  that  are  vacated. 


20 2.    Act  for  the  Limitation  of  Forests 

(1641,  August  7.     16  Charles  I.  c.  16.     5  S.  R.  119.     Gardiner,  192-195.) 

WHEREAS  by  Act  of  Parliament  made  in  the  first  year  of  the 
reign  of  the  late  King  Edward  the  Third,  it  was  ordained, 
that  the  old  perambulation  of  the  forest  in  the  time  of  King 
Edward  the  First  should  be  thenceforth  holden  in. like  form  as  it 
was  then  ridden  and  bounded,  and  in  such  places  where  it  was  not 
bounded,  the  King  would  that  it  should  be  bounded  by  good  men 
and  lawful : 

II.  And  whereas  for  many  ages  past  certain  meets,  meers,  limits 
and  bounds  of  the  forests  have  been  commonly  known  and  ob- 
served in  the  several  Counties,  wherein  the  said  forests  lie  : 

III.  And  whereas  of  late  divers  presentments  have  been  made 
and  some  judgments  given,  whereby  the  meets,  meers,  limits  and 
bounds  of  some  of  the  said  forests  have  been  variously  extended 
or  pretended  to  extend  beyond  some  of  the  said  meets,  meers, 
limits  and  bounds  so  commonly  known  and  formerly  observed,  to 
the  great  grievance  and  vexation  of  many  persons  having  lands 
adjoining  to  the  said  meets,  meers,  limits  and  bounds  so  com- 
monly known  and  formerly  observed  :  and  whereas  of  late  time 
some  endeavours  or  pretences  have  been  to  set  on  foot  forests  in 
some  parts  of  this  realm  and  the  dominion  of  Wales,  where  in 
truth  none  have  been  or  ought  to  be,  or  at  least  have  not  been 
used  of  long  time  :  for  remedy  thereof,  may  it  please  your  Most 


372  English  Constitutional  Documents 

Excellent  Majesty  that  it  be  declared  and  enacted  by  authority  of 
Parliament ; 

IV.  And   be   it   declared   and   enacted   by  the   King's   Most 
Excellent  Majesty  and  the  Lords  and  Commons  in  this  present 
Parliament  assembled,  and  by  the  authority  of  the  same,  that  from 
henceforth  the  meets,  meers,  limits  and  bounds  of  all  and  every 
the  forests  respectively,  shall  be  to  all  intents  and  purposes  taken, 
adjudged  and  deemed  to  extend  no  further  respectively  than  the 
meets,  meers,  limits  and  bounds,  which  in  the  several  Counties 
respectively  wherein  the  said  forests  do  lie,  were  commonly  known, 
reputed,  used  or  taken  to  be  the  meets,  meers,  limits  and  bounds 
of  the  said  forests  respectively  in  the  twentieth  year  of  the  reign 
of  our  late  Sovereign  Lord,  King  James,  and  not  beyond  in  any 
wise,  any  perambulation  or  perambulations,  presentments,  extents, 
surveys,  judgments,  records,   decrees,  or  other  matter  or  thing 
whatsoever  to  the   contrary  notwithstanding :    and  that   all  and 
every   the   presentments  since   the   said   twentieth    year    made, 
and  all  and  every  other  presentment  and  presentments,  and  all  and 
every  judgment  and  award  upon  or  by  reason  or  pretext  of  any 
such  presentment  or  presentments,  and  all  and  every  perambulation 
and  perambulations,  surveys,  extents,  and  other  act  and  acts  at  any 
time  heretofore  had  or  made,  by  which  the  meets,  meers,  limits 
or  bounds  of  the  said  forests,  or  any  of  them,  are  or  are  pretended 
to  be  further  extended  than  as  aforesaid ;  and  also  all  and  every 
presentment  of  any  other  person  or  persons  at  any  Justice  seat, 
Swainemote,  or  Court  of  Attachments,  for  or  by  reason  or  by 
colour  of  any  act  or  acts  whatsoever  done  or  committed  in  any 
place  without  or  beyond  the  said  meets,  meers,  limits  or  bounds 
respectively,  so  commonly  known,  reputed,  used,  or  taken  as  afore- 
said, and    all   and   every  fine   and  fines,  and   amercement   and 
amercements,  upon,  by  reason  or  colour  of  any  such  presentment 
or  presentments,  shall  from  henceforth  be  adjudged,  deemed,  and 
taken  to  be  utterly  void,  and  of  no  force  or  effect ;  any  law,  statute 
record  or  pretence  whatsoever  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding. 

V.  And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  that 
no  place  or  places  within  this  realm  of  England  or  dominion  of 
Wales,  where  no  such  Justice  seat,  Swainemote,  or  Court  of  Attach- 
ment have  been  held  or  kept,  or  where  no  Verderers  have  been 
chosen,  or  regard  made,  within  the  space  of  sixty  years  next  before 
the  first  year  of  His  Majesty's  reign  that  now  is,  shall  be  at  any 
time  hereafter  judged,  deemed,  or  taken  to  be  forest,  or  within 
the  bounds  or  meets  of  the  forests  ;  but  the  same  shall  be  from 
henceforth  for  ever   hereafter  disafforested,  and  freed,  and  ex- 


Act  for  the  Limitation  of  Forests  373 

empted  from  the  forest  laws;  any  Justice  seat,  Swainemote,  or 
Court  of  Attachment  held  or  kept  within  or  for  any  such  place  or 
places  at  any  time  or  times  since  the  beginning  of  His  Majesty's 
said  reign,  or  any  presentment,  enquiry,  act,  or  thing  heretofore 
made,  or  hereafter  to  be  made  or  done  to  the  contrary  notwith- 
standing. 

VI.  Provided  also,  and  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority 
aforesaid,  that  for  the  better  putting  into  certainty  all  and  every  the 
meets,  meers,  bounds  and  limits  of  all  and  every  the  forests  as  afore- 
said, the  Lord  Chancellor  or  Lord  Keeper  of  the  Great  Seal  of 
England  for  the  time  being  shall,  by  virtue  of  this  Act,  upon  re- 
quest of  any  of  the  Peers  of  this  kingdom,  or  of  the  Knights  and 
Burgesses  of  the  Parliament  or  any  of  them,  grant  several  commis- 
sions under  the  Great  Seal  of  England  to  Commissioners  to  be 
nominated  respectively  by  the  said  Peers,  Knights  and  Burgesses, 
or  any  of  them,  to  enquire  of  and  find  out  by  inquests  of  good  and 
lawful  men  upon  oath,  and  by  the  oaths  of  witnesses  to  be  pro- 
duced at  the  said  inquests,  and  by  all  other  lawful  means,  all  and 
every  the  meers,  meets,  bounds  and  limits  of  the  forests  respec- 
tively, which  were  commonly  known  to  be  their  meers,  meets, 
bounds  and  limits  respectively  in  the  said  twentieth  year  of  the 
reign  of  our  late  Sovereign  Lord,  King  James ;  and  to  return  the 
inquests  so  taken  into  the  Court  of  Chancery ;  and  that  all  and 
every  the  Sheriffs  and  Bailiffs  of  and  in  every  County  wherein  any 
such  inquests  shall  be  so  to  be  taken ;  and  all  and  every  the  Ver- 
derers,  Foresters,  Rangers,  and  other  officers  of  the  forests  respec- 
tively, where  any  such  officers  be,  shall  be  assistant  and  attendant 
to  the  executions  of  the  said  commissions,  according  as  by  virtue 
of  the  said  commissions  respectively  they  shall  be  commanded  ;  and 
where  no   such  officers  are  or  where   such  officers   be,  if  they 
or  any  of  them  shall  refuse  or  neglect  such  assistance  and  attend- 
ance as  aforesaid,  then  the  said  Commissioners  shall  and  may  pro- 
ceed without  them  in  the  execution  of  the  said  commissions. 

VII.  And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  that 
the  forests  whereof  the  meets,  meers,  limits  and  bounds  shall  be 
so  returned  and  certified  by  virtue  of  any  the  said  commissions  as 
aforesaid,  from  thenceforth  shall  not  extend,  nor  be  extended,  nor 
be  deemed,  adjudged,  or  taken  to  extend  any  further  in  any  wise 
than  the  meets,  meers,  limits  and  bounds  that  shall  be  so  returned 
and  certified ;  and  that  all  the  places  and  territories  that  shall  be 
without  the  meets,  meers,  limits  and  bounds  so  returned  and  certi- 
fied, shall  be  and  are  hereby  declared  to  be  from  thenceforth  free 
to  all  intents  and  purposes,  as  if  the  same  had  never  been  forest, 


374          English  Constitutional  Documents 

or  so  reputed  ;  any  Act  or  Acts,  matter  or  thing  whatsoever  to  the 
contrary  thereof  notwithstanding. 

VIII.  Provided,  and  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  afore- 
said, that  all  and  every  the  grounds,  territories  or  places  which 
have  been  or  are  disafforested  or  mentioned  to  be  disafforested  in  or 
by  any  Letters  Patents,  Charters,  or  otherwise  since  the  said  twen- 
tieth year  of  the  reign  of  our  said  late  Sovereign  Lord,  King  James, 
shall  be  excluded  and  left  out  of  the  meets,  meers,  limits  and 
bounds  of  the  forests  which  are  to  be  enquired  of,  returned  and 
certified  by  virtue  of  the  said  commissions,  or  any  of  them  respec- 
tively, and  shall  be,  and  hereby  are  declared  and  enacted  to  be 
utterly  disafforested,  free,  and  exempt  to  all  intents  and  purposes 
as  if  the  same  had  never  been  at  all  forest,  or  so  reputed ;  any- 
thing in  this  present  Act  contained,  or  any  other  Act,  matter  or 
thing  whatsoever  to  the  contrary  in  any  wise  notwithstanding. 

IX.  Provided  nevertheless  and  be  it  enacted  that  the  tenants, 
owners,  and  occupiers,  and  every  of  them  of  lands  and  tenements, 
which  shall  be  excluded  and  left  out  of  the  meets,  meers,  limits 
or  bounds  of  the  forests  to  be  returned  and  certified  by  virtue  of 
any  the  said  commissions,  shall  or  may  use  and  enjoy  such  com- 
mon, and  other  profits  and  easements  within  the  forest  as  anciently 
or  accustomarily  they  have  used  and  enjoyed ;  anything  in  this 
present  Act  contained  or  any  Act  or  Ordinance  made  in  the  three- 
and-thirtieth  year  of  King  Edward  the  First,  or  any  custom  or 
law  of  the  forest,  or  any  other  matter  or  thing  to  the  contrary 
thereof  notwithstanding. 


203.    Act  prohibiting  the  Exaction  of  Knight- 
hood Fines 

(1641,  August  10.     1 6  Charles  I.  c.  20.     5  5".  ^.  151.     Gardiner,  196,  197.) 

WHEREAS  upon  pretext  of  an  ancient  custom  or  usage  of  this 
realm  of  England,  that  men  of  full  age  being  not  Knights, 
and  being  seised  of  lands  or  rents  of  the  yearly  value  of  forty 
pounds  or  more  (especially  if  their  seisin  had  so  continued  by  the 
space  of  three  years  next  past),  might  be  compelled  by  the  King's 
writ  to  receive,  or  take  upon  them,  the  Order  or  Dignity  of  Knight- 
hood, or  else  to  make  fine  for  the  discharge  or  respite  of  the  same, 
several  writs,  about  the  beginning  of  His  Majesty's  reign,  issued  out 
of  the  Court  of  Chancery  for  proclamations  to  be  made  in  every 


Act  prohibiting  Exaction  of  Knighthood  Fines     375 

County  to  that  purpose,  and  for  certifying  the  names  of  all  such 
persons,  and  for  summoning  them  personally  to  appear  in  the  King's 
presence,  before  a  certain  day,  to  be  there  ready  to  receive  the  said 
Order  or  Dignity  :  upon  return  of  which  writs,  and  transmitting 
the  same  with  their  returns  into  the  Court  of  Exchequer,  and  upon 
other  writs  for  further  inquiry  of  the  names  of  such  persons  issuing 
out  of  the  said  Court  of  Exchequer,  process  by  distringas  was 
thence  made  against  a  very  great  number  of  persons,  many  of 
which  were  altogether  unfit,  in  regard  either  of  estate  or  quality, 
to  receive  the  said  Order  or  Dignity,  and  very  many  were  put  to 
grievous  fines  and  other  vexations  for  the  same,  although  in  truth 
it  were  not  sufficiently  known  how,  or  in  what  sort,  or  where  they, 
or  any  of  them,  should,  or  might  have  addressed  themselves  for 
receiving  the  said  Order  or  Dignity,  and  for  saving  themselves 
thereby  from  the  said  fines,  process  and  vexations :  and  whereas 
it  is  most  apparent,  that  all  and  every  such  proceeding,  in  regard 
of  the  matter  therein  pretended,  is  altogether  useless  and  unrea- 
sonable :  may  it  therefore  please  your  Most  Excellent  Majesty 
that  it  be  by  authority  of  Parliament  declared  and  enacted  ; 

II.  And  be  it  declared  and  enacted  by  the  King's  Most  Excellent 
Majesty,  and  the  Lords  and  Commons  in  this  Parliament  assembled, 
and  by  the  authority  of  the  same,  that  from  henceforth  no  person 
or  persons  of  what  condition,  quality,  estate  or  degree  soever,  shall 
at  any  time  be  distrained  or  otherwise  compelled  by  any  writ  or 
process  of  the  Court  of  Chancery  or  Court  of  Exchequer,  or  other- 
wise by  any  means  whatsoever,  to  receive  or  take  upon  him  or 
them  respectively  the  Order  or  Dignity  of  Knighthood,  nor  shall 
suffer  or  undergo  any  fine,  trouble  or  molestation  whatsoever  by 
reason  or  colour  of  his  or  their  having  not  received  or  taken  upon 
him  or  them  the  said  Order  or  Dignity ;  and  that  all  and  every 
writ  or  process  whatsoever,  and  all  and  every  proceeding  which 
shall  hereafter  be  had  or  made  contrary  to  the  intent  of  this 
Act,  shall  be  deemed  and  adjudged  to  be  utterly  void ;  and 
that  all  and  every  process,  proceeding,  and  charge  now  depend- 
ing by  reason  or  colour  of  the  said  pretended  custom  or  writs 
aforesaid,  or  of  any  the  dependents  thereof,  shall  from  hence- 
forth cease,  and  stand,  be  and  remain  discharged  and  utterly  void, 
any  former  law  or  custom,  or  any  pretence  of  any  former  law  or 
custom  or  any  other  matter  whatsoever  to  the  contrary  in  any  wise 
notwithstanding. 


376  English  Constitutional  Documents 

204.    The  Grand  Remonstrance,  with  the  Peti- 
tion accompanying  It 

(Presented  to  Charles  I.,  December  i,  1641.     Rush  worth,  iv.  438.    The  whole 
reprinted  in  Gardiner,  202-232.) 

MOST  Gracious  Sovereign, 
Your  Majesty's  most  humble  and  faithful  subjects  the  Com- 
mons in  this  present  Parliament  assembled,  do  with  much  thank- 
fulness and  joy  acknowledge  the  great  mercy  and  favour  of  God, 
in  giving  your  Majesty  a  safe  and  peaceable  return  out  of  Scotland 
into  your  kingdom  of  England,  where  the  pressing  dangers  and 
distempers  of  the  State  have  caused  us  with  much  earnestness  to 
desire  the  comfort  of  your  gracious  presence,  and  likewise  the 
unity  and  justice  of  your  royal  authority,  to  give  more  life  and 
power  to  the  dutiful  and  loyal  counsels  and  endeavours  of  your  Par- 
liament, for  the  prevention  of  that  eminent  ruin  and  destruction 
wherein  your  kingdoms  of  England  and  Scotland  are  threatened. 
The  duty  which  we  owe  to  your  Majesty  and  our  country,  cannot  but 
make  us  very  sensible  and  apprehensive,  that  the  multiplicity,  sharp- 
ness and  malignity  of  those  evils  under  which  we  have  now  many  years 
suffered,  are  fomented  and  cherished  by  a  corrupt  and  ill-affected 
party,  who  amongst  other  their  mischievous  devices  for  the  altera- 
tion of  religion  and  government,  have  sought  by  many  false  scan- 
dals and  imputations,  cunningly  insinuated  and  dispersed  amongst 
the  people,  to  blemish  and  disgrace  our  proceedings  in  this  Parlia- 
ment, and  to  get  themselves  a  party  and  faction  amongst  your  sub- 
jects, for  the  better  strengthening  themselves  in  their  wicked 
courses,  and  hindering  those  provisions  and  remedies  which 
might,  by  the  wisdom  of  your  Majesty  and  counsel  of  your  Par- 
liament, be  opposed  against  them. 

For  preventing  whereof,  and  the  better  information  of  your 
Majesty,  your  Peers  and  all  other  your  loyal  subjects,  we  have 
been  necessitated  to  make  a  declaration  of  the  state  of  the  king- 
dom, both  before  and  since  the  assembly  of  this  Parliament,  unto 
this  time,  which  we  do  humbly  present  to  your  Majesty,  without 
the  least  intention  to  lay  any  blemish  upon  your  royal  person,  but 
only  to  represent  how  your  royal  authority  and  trust  have  been 
abused,  to  the  great  prejudice  and  danger  of  your  Majesty,  and 
of  all  your  good  subjects. 

And  because  we  have  reason  to  believe  that  those  malignant 
parties,  whose  proceedings  evidently  appear  to  be  mainly  for  the 


The  Grand  Remonstrance  377 

advantage  and  increase  of  Popery,  is  composed,  set  up,  and  acted 
by  the  subtle  practice  of  the  Jesuits  and  other  engineers  and 
factors  for  Rome,  and  to  the  great  danger  of  this  kingdom,  and 
most  grievous  affliction  of  your  loyal  subjects,  have  so  far  pre- 
vailed as  to  corrupt  divers  of  your  Bishops  and  others  in  prime 
places  of  the  Church,  and  also  to  bring  divers  of  these  instruments 
to  be  of  your  Privy  Council,  and  other  employments  of  trust  and 
nearness  about  your  Majesty,  the  Prince,  and  the  rest  of  your 
royal  children. 

And  by  this  means  have  had  such  an  operation  in  your  counsel 
and  the  most  important  affairs  and  proceedings  of  your  govern- 
ment, that  a  most  dangerous  division  and  chargeable  preparation 
for  war  betwixt  your  kingdoms  of  England  and  Scotland,  the 
increase  of  jealousies  betwixt  your  Majesty  and  your  most  obedi- 
ent subjects,  the  violent  distraction  and  interruption  of  this  Parlia- 
ment, the  insurrection  of  the  Papists  in  your  kingdom  of  Ireland,  and 
bloody  massacre  of  your  people,  have  been  not  only  endeavoured 
and  attempted,  but  in  a  great  measure  compassed  and  effected. 

For  preventing  the  final  accomplishment  whereof,  your  poor 
subjects  are  enforced  to  engage  their  persons  and  estates  to  the 
maintaining  of  a  very  expensive  and  dangerous  war,  notwithstand- 
ing they  have  already  since  the  beginning  of  this  Parliament 
undergone  the  charge  of  ^150,000  sterling,  or  thereabouts,  for 
the  necessary  support  and  supply  of  your  Majesty  in  these  present 
and  perilous  designs.  And  because  all  our  most  faithful  en- 
deavours and  engagements  will  be  ineffectual  for  the  peace,  safety 
and  preservation  of  your  Majesty  and  your  people,  if  some  pres- 
ent, real  and  effectual  course  be  not  taken  for  suppressing  this 
wicked  and  malignant  party  :  — 

We,  your  most  humble  and  obedient  subjects,  do  with  all  faith- 
fulness and  humility  beseech  your  Majesty.  — 

i.  That  you  will  be  graciously  pleased  to  concur  with  the  hum- 
ble desires  of  your  people  in  a  parliamentary  way,  for  the  preserv- 
ing the  peace  and  safety  of  the  kingdom  from  the  malicious 
designs  of  the  Popish  party  :  — 

For  depriving  the  Bishops  of  their  votes  in  Parliament,  and 
abridging  their  immoderate  power  usurped  over  the  Clergy,  and 
other  your  good  subjects,  which  they  have  perniciously  abused  to 
the  hazard  of  religion,  and  great  prejudice  and  oppression  of  the 
laws  of  the  kingdom,  and  just  liberty  of  your  people  :  — 

For  the  taking  away  such  oppressions  in  religion,  Church  gov- 
ernment and  discipline,  as  have  been  brought  in  and  fomented  by 
them  :  — 


378  English  Constitutional  Documents 

For  uniting  all  such  your  loyal  subjects  together  as  join  in  the 
same  fundamental  truths  against  the  Papists,  by  removing  some 
oppressions  and  unnecessary  ceremonies  by  which  divers  weak 
consciences  have  been  scrupled,  and  seem  to  be  divided  from  the 
rest,  and  for  the  due  execution  of  those  good  laws  which  have 
been  made  for  securing  the  liberty  of  your  subjects. 

2.  That  your  Majesty  will  likewise  be  pleased  to  remove  from 
your  council  all  such  as  persist  to  favour  and  promote  any  of 
those  pressures  and  corruptions  wherewith  your  people  have  been 
grieved,  and  that  for  the  future  your  Majesty  will  vouchsafe  to 
employ  such  persons  in  your  great  and  public  affairs,  and  to  take 
such  to  be  near  you  in  places  of  trust,  as  your  Parliament  may 
have  cause  to  confide  in ;  that  in  your  princely  goodness  to  your 
people  you  will  reject  and  refuse  all  mediation  and  solicitation  to 
the  contrary,  how  powerful  and  near  soever. 

3.  That  you  will  be  pleased  to  forbear  to  alienate  any  of  the 
forfeited  and  escheated  lands  in  Ireland  which  shall  accrue  to 
your  Crown  by  reason  of  this  rebellion,  that  out  of  them  the 
Crown  may  be  the  better  supported,  and  some  satisfaction  made 
to  your  subjects  of  this  kingdom  for  the  great  expenses  they  are 
like  to  undergo  [in]  this  war. 

Which  humble  desires  of  ours  being  graciously  fulfilled  by  your 
Majesty,  we  will,  by  the  blessing  and  favour  of  God,  most  cheer- 
fully undergo  the  hazard  and  expenses  of  this  war,  and  apply  our- 
selves to  such  other  courses  and  counsels  as  may  support  your  royal 
estate  with  honour  and  plenty  at  home,  with  power  and  reputation 
abroad,  and  by  our  loyal  affections,  obedience  and  service,  lay  a 
sure  and  lasting  foundation  of  the  greatness  and  prosperity  of  your 
Majesty,  and  your  royal  posterity  in  future  times. 

The  Grand  Remonstrance 


191.  For  the  perfecting  of  the  work  begun,  and  removing  all 
future  impediments,  we  conceive  these  courses  will  be  very  effec- 
tual, seeing  the  religion  of  the  Papists  hath  such  principles  as  do 
certainly  tend  to  the  destruction  and  extirpation  of  all  Protestants, 
when  they  shall  have  opportunity  to  effect  it. 

192.  It  is  necessary  in  the  first  place  to  keep  them  in  such  con- 
dition as  that  they  may  not  be  able  to  do  us  any  hurt,  and  for 
avoiding  of  such  connivance  and  favour  as  hath  heretofore  been 
shown  unto  them. 

193.  That  His  Majesty  be  pleased  to  grant  a  standing  Com- 


The  Grand  Remonstrance  379 

mission  to  some  choice  men  named  in  Parliament,  who  may  take 
notice  of  their  increase,  their  counsels  and  proceedings,  and  use 
all  due  means  by  execution  of  the  laws  to  prevent  all  mischievous 
designs  against  the  peace  and  safety  of  this  kingdom. 

194.  Thus  some  good  course  be  taken  to  discover  the  counter- 
feit and  false  conformity  of  Papists  to  the  Church,  by  colour 
whereof  persons  very  much  disaffected  to  the  true  religion  have 
been  admitted  into  place  of  greatest  authority  and  trust  in  the 
kingdom. 

195.  For  the  better  preservation  of  the  laws  and  liberties  of  the 
kingdom,  that  all  illegal  grievances  and  exactions  be  presented  and 
punished  at  the  sessions  and  assizes. 

196.  And  that  Judges  and  Justices  be  very  careful  to  give  this 
in  charge  to  the  grand  jury,  and  both  the  Sheriff  and  Justices  to  be 
sworn  to  the  due  execution  of  the  Petition  of  Right  and  other  laws. 

197.  That  His  Majesty  be  humbly  petitioned  by  both  Houses 
to  employ  such  counsellors,  ambassadors  and  other  ministers,  in 
managing  his  business  at  home  and  abroad,  as  the  Parliament  may 
have  cause  to  confide  in,  without  which  we  cannot  give  His  Maj- 
esty such  supplies  for  support  of  his  own  estate,  nor  such  assist- 
ance to  the  Protestant  party  beyond  the  sea,  as  is  desired. 

198.  It  may  often  fall  out  that  the  Commons  may  have  just 
cause  to  take  exceptions  at  some  men  for  being  councillors,  and 
yet  not  charge  those  men  with  crimes,  for  there  be  grounds  of 
diffidence  which  lie  not  in  proof. 

199.  There  are  others,  which  though  they  may  be  proved,  yet 
are  not  legally  criminal. 

200.  To  be  a  known  favourer  of  Papists,  or  to  have  been  very 
forward  in  defending  or  countenancing  some  great  offenders  ques- 
tioned in  Parliament ;  or  to  speak  contemptuously  of  either  Houses 
of  Parliament  or  Parliamentary  proceedings. 

201.  Or  such  as  are  factors  or  agents  for  any  foreign  prince  of 
another  religion ;    such  are  justly  suspected  to  get  councillors' 
places,  or  any  other  of  trust  concerning  public  employment  for 
money ;  for  all  these  and  divers  others  we  may  have  great  reason 
to  be  earnest  with  His  Majesty,  not  to  put  his  great  affairs  into 
such  hands,  though  we  may  be  unwilling  to  proceed  against  them 
in  any  legal  way  of  charge  or  impeachment. 

202.  That  all  Councillors  of  State  may  be  sworn  to  observe 
those  laws  which  concern  the  subject  in  his  liberty,  that  they  may 
likewise  take  an  oath  not  to  receive  or  give  reward  or  pension 
from  any  foreign  prince,  but  such  as  they  shall  within  some  rea- 
sonable time  discover  to  the  Lords  of  His  Majesty's  Council. 


380  English  Constitutional  Documents 

203.  And  although  they  should  wickedly  forswear  themselves, 
yet  it  may  herein  do  good  to  make  them  known  to  be  false  and 
perjured  to  those  who  employ  them,  and  thereby  bring  them  into 
as  little  credit  with  them  as  with  us. 

204.  That  His  Majesty  may  have  cause  to  be  in  love  with  good 
counsel  and  good  men,  by  showing  him  in  an  humble  and  dutiful 
manner  how  full  of  advantage  it  would  be  to  himself,  to  see  his 
own  estate  settled  in  a  plentiful  condition  to  support  his  honour ; 
to  see  his  people  united  in  ways  of  duty  to  him,  and  endeavours 
of  the  public  good ;  to  see  happiness,  wealth,  peace  and  safety 
derived  to  his  own  kingdom,  and  procured  to  his  allies,  by  the  in- 
fluence of  his  own  power  and  government. 


205.    The  King's  Answer  to  the  Petition  Ac- 
companying the  Grand  Remonstrance 

(1641,  December  23.     Rushworth,  iv.  452.    Gardiner,  233-236.) 

"\  ^  TE  having  received  from  you,  soon  after  our  return  out  of 
»  V  Scotland,  a  long  petition  consisting  of  many  desires  of 
great  moment,  together  with  a  declaration  of  a  very  unusual  nature 
annexed  thereunto,  we  had  taken  some  time  to  consider  of  it,  as 
befitted  us  in  a  matter  of  that  consequence,  being  confident  that 
your  own  reason  and  regard  to  us,  as  well  as  our  express  intimation 
by  our  comptroller  to  that  purpose,  would  have  restrained  you 
from  the  publishing  of  it  till  such  time  as  you  should  have  received 
our  answer  to  it ;  but,  much  against  our  expectation,  finding  the 
contrary,  that  the  said  declaration  is  already  abroad  in  print,  by 
directions  from  your  House  as  appears  by  the  printed  copy,  we 
must  let  you  know  that  we  are  very  sensible  of  the  disrespect. 
Notwithstanding,  it  is  our  intention  that  no  failing  on  your  part 
shall  make  us  fail  in  ours  of  giving  all  due  satisfaction  to  the 
desires  of  our  people  in  a  parliamentary  way ;  and  therefore  we 
send  you  this  answer  to  your  petition,  reserving  ourself  in  point  of 
the  declaration  which  we  think  unparliamentary,  and  shall  take  a 
course  to  do  that  which  we  shall  think  fit  in  prudence  and  honour. 
To  the  petition,  we  say  that  although  there  are  divers  things  in 
the  preamble  of  it  which  we  are  so  far  from  admitting  that  we  pro- 
fess we  cannot  at  all  understand  them,  as  '  of  a  wicked  and  malig- 
nant party  prevalent  in  the  government ' ;  of  '  some  of  that  party 
admitted  to  our  Privy  Council  and  to  other  employments  of  trust, 


The  King's  Answer  to  the  Petition         381 

and  nearest  to  us  and  our  children' ;  of  'endeavours  to  sow  among 
the  people  false  scandals  and  imputations,  to  blemish  and  disgrace 
the  proceedings  of  the  Parliament ' ;  all,  or  any  of  them,  did  we 
know  of,  we  should  be  as  ready  to  remedy  and  punish  as  you  to 
complain  of,  so  that  the  prayers  of  your  petition  are  grounded 
upon  such  premises  as  we  must  in  no  wise  admit ;  yet,  notwith- 
standing, we  are  pleased  to  give  this  answer  to  you. 

To  the  first,  concerning  religion,  consisting  of  several  branches, 
we  say  that,  for  preserving  the  peace  and  safety  of  this  kingdom 
from  the  design  of  the  Popish  party,  we  have,  and  will  still,  concur 
with  all  the  just  desires  of  our  people  in  a  parliamentary  way  :  that, 
for  the  depriving  of  the  Bishops  of  their  votes  in  Parliament,  we 
would  have  you  consider  that  their  right  is  grounded  upon  the 
fundamental  law  of  the  kingdom  and  constitution  of  Parliament. 
This  we  would  have  you  consider ;  but  since  you  desire  our  con- 
currence herein  in  a  parliamentary  way,  we  will  give  no  further 
answer  at  this  time. 

As  for  the  abridging  of  the  inordinate  power  of  the  clergy,  we 
conceive  that  the  taking  away  of  the  High  Commission  Court  hath 
well  moderated  that ;  but  if  there  continue  any  usurpations  or  ex- 
cesses in  their  jurisdictions,  we  therein  neither  have  nor  will  pro- 
tect them. 

Unto  that  clause  which  concerneth  corruptions  (as  you  style 
them)  in  religion,  in  Church  government,  and  in  discipline,  and 
.  the  removing  of  such  unnecessary  ceremonies  as  weak  consciences 
might  check  at :  that  for  any  illegal  innovations  which  may  have 
crept  in,  we  shall  willingly  concur  in  the  removal  of  them  :  that, 
if  our  Parliament  shall  advise  us  to  call  a  national  synod,  which  may 
duly  examine  such  ceremonies  as  give  just  cause  of  offence  to 
any,  we  shall  take  it  into  consideration,  and  apply  ourself  to  give 
due  satisfaction  therein  ;  but  we  are  very  sorry  to  hear,  in  such  gen- 
eral terms,  corruption  in  religion  objected,  since  we  are  persuaded 
in  our  conscience  that  no  Church  can  be  found  upon  the  earth 
that  professeth  the  true  religion  with  more  purity  of  doctrine  than 
the  Church  of  England  doth,  nor  where  the  government  and  disci- 
pline are  jointly  more  beautified  and  free  from  superstition ;  then 
as  they  are  here  established  by  law,  which,  by  the  grace  of  God,  we 
will  with  constancy  maintain  (while  we  live)  in  their  purity  and  glory, 
not  only  against  all  invasions  of  Popery,  but  also  from  the  irrever- 
ence of  those  many  schismatics  and  separatists,  wherewith  of  late 
this  kingdom  and  this  city  abounds,  to  the  great  dishonour  and 
hazard  both  of  Church  and  State,  for  the  suppression  of  whom  we 
require  your  timely  aid  and  active  assistance. 


j 82  English  Constitutional  Documents 

To  the  second  prayer  of  the  petition,  concerning  the  removal 
and  choice  of  councillors,  we  know  not  any  of  our  Council  to  whom 
the  character  set  forth  in  the  petition  can  belong :  that  by  those 
'  whom  we  had  exposed  to  trial,  we  have  already  given  you  suffi- 
cient testimony  that  there  is  no  man  so  near  unto  us  in  place  or 
affection,  whom  we  will  not  leave  to  the  justice  of  the  law,  if  you 
shall  bring  a  particular  charge  and  sufficient  proofs  against  him ; 
and  of  this  we  do  again  assure  you,  but  in  the  meantime  we  wish 
you  to  forbear  such  general  aspersions  as  may  reflect  upon  all 
our  Council,  since  you  name  none  in  particular. 

That  for  the  choice  of  our  councillors  and  ministers  of  state, 
it  were  to  debar  us  that  natural  liberty  all  freemen  have  ;  and  as  it 
is  the  undoubted  right  of  the  Crown  of  England  to  call  such  per- 
sons to  our  secret  counsels,  to  public  employment  and  our  particu- 
lar service  as  we  shall  think  fit,  so  we  are,  and  ever  shall  be,  very 
careful  to  make  election  of  such  persons  in  those  places  of  trust  as 
shall  have  given  good  testimonies  of  their  abilities  and  integrity, 
and  against  whom  there  can  be  no  just  cause  of  exception  whereon 
reasonably  to  ground  a  diffidence ;  and  to  choices  of  this  nature, 
we  assure  you  that  the  mediation  of  the  nearest  unto  us  hath  always 
concurred. 

To  the  third  prayer  of  your  petition  concerning  Ireland,  we 
understand  your  desire  of  not  alienating  the  forfeited  lands  thereof, 
to  proceed  from  much  care  and  love,  and  likewise  that  it  may  be 
a  resolution  very  fit  for  us  to  take  ;  but  whether  it  be  seasonable  to 
declare  resolutions  of  that  nature  before  the  events  of  a  war  be 
seen,  that  we  much  doubt  of.  Howsoever,  we  cannot  but  thank 
you  for  this  care,  and  your  cheerful  engagement  for  the  suppression 
of  that  rebellion ;  upon  the  speedy  effecting  whereof,  the  glory  of 
God  in  the  Protestant  profession,  the  safety  of  the  British  there, 
our  honour,  and  that  of  the  nation,  so  much  depends  :  all  the  inter- 
ests of  this  kingdom  being  so  involved  in  that  business,  we  cannot 
but  quicken  your  affections  therein,  and  shall  desire  you  to  frame 
your  counsels,  to  give  such  expedition  to  the  work  as  the  nature 
thereof,  and  the  pressures  in  point  of  time  require  ;  and  whereof 
you  are  put  in  mind  by  the  daily  insolence  and  increase  of  those 
rebels. 

For  conclusion,  your  promise  to  apply  yourselves  to  such  courses 
as  may  support  our  royal  estate  with  honour  and  plenty  at  home, 
and  with  power  and  reputation  abroad,  is  that  which  we  have  ever 
promised  ourself,  both  from  your  loyalties  and  affections,  and  also 
for  what  we  have  already  done,  and  shall  daily  go  adding  unto,  for 
the  comfort  and  happiness  of  our  people. 


The  Solemn  League  and  Covenant         383 


206.    The  Clerical  Disabilities  Act 

(164$,  February  13.     16  Charles  I.  c.  27.     5  S.  R.  158.     Gardiner,  241-242. 
G.  and  H.  564.) 

WHEREAS  Bishops  and  other  persons  in  Holy  Orders  ought 
not  to  be  entangled  with  secular  jurisdiction,  the  office  of 
the  ministry  being  of  such  great  importance  that  it  will  take  up  the 
whole  man ;  and  for  that  it  is  found  by  long  experience  that  their 
intermeddling  with  secular  jurisdictions  hath  occasioned  great  mis- 
chiefs and  scandals  both  to  Church  and  State ;  His  Majesty,  out 
of  his  religious  care  of  the  Church,  and  souls  of  his  people,  is 
graciously  pleased  that  it  be  enacted,  and  by  authority  of  this  pres- 
ent Parliament  be  it  enacted,  that  no  Archbishop  or  Bishop  or 
other  person  that  now  is  or  hereafter  shall  be  in  Holy  Orders,  shall 
at  any  time  after  the  fifteenth  day  of  February,  in  the  year  of  Our 
Lord  one  thousand  six  hundred  forty-one,  have  any  seat  or  place, 
suffrage,  or  voice,  or  use,  or  execute  any  power  or  authority  in  the 
Parliaments  of  this  realm,  nor  shall  be  of  the  Privy  Council  of  His 
Majesty,  his  heirs  or  successors,  or  Justice  of  the  Peace,  of  oyer 
and  fcrmiwr,  or  gaol  delivery,  or  execute  any  temporal  authority 
by  virtue  of  any  commission,  but  shall  be  wholly  disabled  and  be 
incapable  to  have,  receive,  use  or  execute  any  of  the  said  offices, 
places,  powers,  authorities  and  things  aforesaid. 

II.  And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  that 
all  acts  from  and  after  the  said  isth  day  of  February,  which  shall 
be  done  or  executed  by  any  Archbishop  or  Bishop,  or  other  per- 
son whatsoever  in  Holy  Orders,  and  all  and  every  suffrage  or  voice 
given  or  delivered  by  them  or  any  of  them,  or  other  thing  done  by 
them  or  any  of  them  contrary  to  the  purport  and  true  meaning  of 
this  present  Act,  shall  be  utterly  void  to  all  intents,  constructions 
and  purposes. 

207.    The  Solemn  League  and  Covenant 

(Taken  by  the  House  of  Commons,  September  25,  1643.  Rushworth,  v.  478. 
Cobbett's  Parliamentary  History,  iii.  169.  Gardiner,  267-271.  G.  and  H. 
569-574.) 

S>  noblemen,  barons,  knights,  gentlemen,  citizens,  burgesses, 
ministers  of  the  Gospel,  and  commons  of  all  sorts,  in  the 
kingdoms  of  England,  Scotland  and  Ireland,  by  the  providence 
of  God  living  under  one  King,  and  being  of  one  reformed  reli- 


384          English  Constitutional  Documents 

gion ;  having  before  our  eyes  the  glory  of  God,  and  the  advance- 
ment of  the  kingdom  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ,  the 
honour  and  happiness  of  the  King's  Majesty  and  his  posterity,  and 
the  true  public  liberty,  safety  and  peace  of  the  kingdoms,  wherein 
every  one's  private  condition  is  included  ;  and  calling  to  mind  the 
treacherous  and  bloody  plots,  conspiracies,  attempts  and  practices 
of  the  enemies  of  God  against  the  true  religion  and  professors 
thereof  in  all  places,  especially  in  these  three  kingdoms,  ever  since 
the  reformation  of  religion ;  and  how  much  their  rage,  power  and 
presumption  are  of  late,  and  at  this  time,  increased  and  exercised, 
whereof  the  deplorable  estate  of  the  Church  and  kingdom  of  Ire- 
land, the  distressed  estate  of  the  Church  and  kingdom  of  England, 
and  the  dangerous  estate  of  the  Church  and  kingdom  of  Scotland, 
are  present  and  public  testimonies :  we  have  (now  at  last)  after 
other  means  of  supplication,  remonstrance,  protestations  and  suf- 
ferings, for  the  preservation  of  ourselves  and  our  religion  from 
utter  ruin  and  destruction,  according  to  the  commendable  prac- 
tice of  these  kingdoms  in  former  times,  and  the  example  of  God's 
people  in  other  nations,  after  mature  deliberation,  resolved  and 
determined  to  enter  into  a  mutual  and  solemn  league  and  cove- 
nant, wherein  we  all  subscribe,  and  each  one  of  us  for  himself,  with 
our  hands  lifted  up  to  the  most  high  God,  do  swear : 

I.  That  we  shall  sincerely,  really  and  constantly,  through  the  grace 
of  God,  endeavour  in  our  several  places  and  callings,  the  preserva- 
tion of  the  reformed  religion  in  the  Church  of  Scotland,  in  doc- 
trine, worship,  discipline  and  government,  against  our  common 
enemies ;  the  reformation  of  religion  in  the  kingdoms  of  England 
and   Ireland,  in   doctrine,  worship,  discipline   and   government, 
according  to  the  Word  of  God,  and  the  example  of  the  best  re- 
formed Churches ;  and  we  shall  endeavour  to  bring  the  Churches 
of  God  in  the  three  kingdoms  to  the  nearest  conjunction  and  uni- 
formity in  religion,  confession  of  faith,  form  of  Church  govern- 
ment, directory  for  worship  and  catechising,  that   we,  and  our 
posterity  after  us,  may,  as  brethren,  live  in  faith  and  love,  and  the 
Lord  may  delight  to  dwell  in  the  midst  of  us. 

II.  That  we  shall  in  like  manner,  without  respect  of  persons, 
endeavour  the   extirpation  of  Popery,  Prelacy  (that  is,  Church 
government  by  Archbishops,  Bishops,  their  Chancellors  and  Com- 
missaries,   Deans,    Deans    and   Chapters,   Archdeacons,   and  all 
other  ecclesiastical  officers  depending  on  that  hierarchy),  super- 
stition, heresy,  schism,  profaneness,  and  whatsoever  shall  be  found 
to  be  contrary  to  sound  doctrine  and  the  power  of  godliness,  lest 
we  partake   in  other  men's  sins,  and  thereby  be  in  danger  to 


The  Solemn  League  and  Covenant          385 

receive  of  their  plagues ;  and  that  the  Lord  may  be  one,  and  His 
name  one  in  the  three  kingdoms. 

III.  We  shall  with  the  same  sincerity,  reality  and  constancy,  in 
our  several  vocations,  endeavour  with  our  estates  and  lives  mutually 
to  preserve  the  rights  and  privileges  of  the  Parliaments,  and  the 
liberties  of  the  kingdoms,  and  to  preserve  and  defend  the  King's 
Majesty's  person  and  authority,  in  the  preservation  and  defence 
of  the  true  religion  and  liberties  of  the  kingdoms,  that  the  world 
may  bear  witness  with  our  consciences  of  our  loyalty,  and  that  we 
have  no  thoughts  or  intentions  to  diminish   His   Majesty's  just 
power  and  greatness. 

IV.  We  shall  also  with  all  faithfulness  endeavour  the  discovery 
of  all  such  as  have  been  or  shall  be  incendiaries,  malignants  or  evU 
instruments,  by  hindering  the  reformation  of  religion,  dividing  the 
King  from  his  people,  or  one  of  the  kingdoms  from  another,  or 
making  any  faction  or  parties  amongst  the  people,  contrary  to  the 
league  and  covenant,  that  they  may  be  brought  to  public  trial  and 
receive  condign  punishment,  as  the  degree  of  their  offences  shall 
require  or  deserve,  or  the  supreme  judicatories  of  both  kingdoms 
respectively,  or  others   having  power  from  them  for  that  effect, 
shall  judge  convenient. 

V.  And  whereas  the  happiness  of  a  blessed  peace  between  these 
kingdoms,  denied  in  former  times  to  our  progenitors,  is  by  the 
good  providence  of  God  granted  to  us,  and  hath  been  lately  con- 
cluded and  settled  by  both  Parliaments :  we  shall  each  one  of  us, 
according  to  our  places  and  interest,  endeavour  that  they  may 
remain  conjoined  in  a  firm  peace  and  union  to  all  posterity,  and 
that  justice  may  be  done  upon  the  wilful  opposers  thereof,  in  man- 
ner expressed  in  the  precedent  article. 

VI.  We  shall  also,  according  to  our  places  and  callings,  in  this 
common  cause  of  religion,  liberty  and  peace  of  the  kingdoms,  assist 
and  defend  all  those  that  enter  into  this  league  and  covenant,  in 
the  maintaining  and  pursuing  thereof;  and  shall  not  suffer  our- 
selves, directly  or  indirectly,  by  whatsoever  combination,  persua- 
sion or  terror,  to  be  divided  and  withdrawn  from  this  blessed 
union  and  conjunction,  whether  to  make  defection  to  the  contrary 
part,  or  give  ourselves  to  a  detestable  indifferency  or  neutrality 
in  this  cause,  which  so  much  concerneth  the  glory  of  God,  the 
good  of  the  kingdoms,  and  the  honour  of  the  King ;  but  shall  all 
the  days  of  our  lives  zealously  and  constantly  continue  therein, 
against  all  opposition,  and  promote  the  same  according  to  our 
power,  against  all  lets  and  impediments  whatsoever ;  and  what  we 
are  not  able  ourselves  to  suppress  or  overcome  we  shall  reveal 

2C 


386          English  Constitutional  Documents 

and  make  known,  that  it  may  be  timely  prevented  or  removed : 
all  which  we  shall  do  as  in  the  sight  of  God. 

And  because  these  kingdoms  are  guilty  of  many  sins  and  provo- 
cations against  God,  and  His  Son  Jesus  Christ,  as  is  too  manifest 
by  our  present  distresses  and  dangers,  the  fruits  thereof:  we  pro- 
fess and  declare,  before  God  and  the  world,  our  unfeigned  desire 
to  be  humbled  for  our  own  sins,  and  for  the  sins  of  these  king- 
doms; especially  that  we  have  not  as  we  ought  valued  the  inesti- 
mable benefit  of  the  Gospel ;  that  we  have  not  laboured  for  the 
purity  and  power  thereof;  and  that  we  have  not  endeavoured  to 
receive  Christ  in  our  hearts,  nor  to  walk  worthy  of  Him  in  our 
lives,  which  are  the  causes  of  other  sins  and  transgressions  so 
much  abounding  amongst  us ;  and  our  true  and  unfeigned  purpose, 
desire  and  endeavour,  for  ourselves  and  all  others  under  our 
power  and  charge,  both  in  public  and  in  private,  in  all  duties  we 
owe  to  God  and  man,  to  amend  our  lives,  and  each  one  to  go 
before  another  in  the  example  of  a  real  reformation,  that  the  Lord 
may  turn  away  His  wrath  and  heavy  indignation,  and  establish 
these  Churches  and  kingdoms  in  truth  and  peace.  And  this 
covenant  we  make  in  the  presence  of  Almighty  God,  the  Searcher 
of  all  hearts,  with  a  true  intention  to  perform  the  same,  as  we 
shall  answer  at  that  Great  Day  when  the  secrets  of  all  hearts  shall 
be  disclosed  :  most  humbly  beseeching  the  Lord  to  strengthen  us 
by  His  Holy  Spirit  for  this  end,  and  to  bless  our  desires  and  pro- 
ceedings with  such  success  as  may  be  a  deliverance  and  safety  to 
His  people,  and  encouragement  to  the  Christian  Churches  groan- 
ing under  or  in  danger  of  the  yoke  of  Antichristian  tyranny,  to 
join  in  the  same  or  like  association  and  covenant,  to  the  glory  of 
God,  the  enlargement  of  the  kingdom  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  the 
peace  and  tranquillity  of  Christian  kingdoms  and  commonwealths. 


208.    Ordinance  appointing  the  First  Committee 
of  both  Kingdoms 

(164!,  February   16.    Cobbett's  Parliamentary  History,  iii.  248.    Gardiner, 
271-273.)     . 

WHEREAS,  by  the  covenant  and  treaty  ratified  and  estab- 
lished between  the  two  kingdoms  of  England  and  Scot- 
land, both  nations  are  engaged  in  one  common  cause  against  the 
enemies  of  their  religion  and  liberties,  and,  by  the  late  entrance  of 
the  Scottish  forces  into  this  kingdom  in  pursuance  hereof,  are 


Committee  of  both  Kingdoms  387 

firmly  united  in  a  joint  posture  of  arms  for  their  own  necessary 
defence,  and  for  the  attaining  of  the  ends  expressed  in  the  cove- 
nant and  treaty : 

And  whereas  both  kingdoms  have  thought  it  necessary  that 
they  should  be  joined  in  their  counsels  as  well  as  in  their  forces, 
and,  in  pursuance  thereof,  the  Convention  of  the  Estates  of  Scot- 
land have  appointed  Committees,  residing  in  Scotland  and  in  the 
Scottish  army,  and  have  sent  some  of  the  said  Committees  as  Com- 
missioners for  the  purposes  aforesaid,  to  repair  unto  and  to  reside 
near  the  Parliament,  who,  since  their  arrival,  have  presented  their 
commission  and  powers,  with  their  earnest  desire  that  the  Parlia- 
ment would  lay  down  some  speedy  and  constant  way  of  communi- 
cating the  desires  and  joining  the  counsels  of  both  kingdoms,  in 
pursuance  of  the  tovenant,  treaty  and  common  interests  of  His 
Majesty's  dominions. 

In  consideration  hereof,  the  Lords  and  Commons  do  nominate, 
ordain  and  appoint  Algernon,  Earl  of  Northumberland,  Robert, 
Earl  of  Essex  (Lord  General),  Robert,  Earl  of  Warwick  (Lord 
Admiral),  Edward,  Earl  of  Manchester,  William,  Viscount  Say  and 
Sele,  Philip,  Lord  Wharton,  John,  Lord  Robarts,  William  Pierpoint, 
Sir  Henry  Vane  (senior),  Sir  Philip  Stapleton,  Sir  William  Waller, 
Sir  Gilbert  Gerrard,  Sir  William  Armyne,  Sir  Arthur  Haslerigg,  Sir 
Henry  Vane  (junior),  John  Crewe,  Robert  Wallop,  Oliver  St. 
John  (Solid tor-General),  Oliver  Cromwell,  Samuel  Browne  and 
John  Glynn  (Recorder),  or  any  six  of  them,  whereof  one  Lord 
and  two  Commoners,  to  treat  with  the  Committees  and  Commis- 
sioners appointed  by  our  brethren  of  Scotland,  in  such  things  as 
shall  by  them  be  propounded  from  and  in  the  name  of  the  king- 
dom of  Scotland,  for  the  ends  aforesaid ;  as  likewise  to  propound 
to  the  Committees  and  Commissioners  of  Scotland  whatever  they 
shall  receive  in  charge  from  both  Houses,  and,  from  time  to  time, 
to  advise  and  consult  concerning  the  same,  and  report  the  results 
to  both  Houses. 

And  further  power  and  authority  is  hereby  given  to  them,  or 
any  six  of  them,  whereof  one  Lord  and  two  Commoners,  as  a  joint 
Committee  with  the  Committees  and  Commissioners  of  Scotland, 
to  advise,  consult,  order  and  direct,  concerning  the  carrying  on 
and  managing  of  the  war  for  the  best  advantage  of  the  three  king- 
doms, and  the  keeping  a  good  intelligence  between  the  three 
kingdoms,  their  forces,  committees  and  counsels;  and  likewise 
with  power  to  hold  good  correspondence  and  intelligence  with 
foreign  States ;  and  further  to  advise  and  consult  of  all  things  in 
pursuance  of  the  ends  in  the  covenant  and  treaty. 


388  English  Constitutional   Documents 

Provided  always,  that  nothing  in  this  Ordinance  shall  authorise 
the  Committee  hereby  appointed  to  advise,  treat  or  consult  con- 
cerning any  cessation  of  arms  or  making  peace,  without  express 
directions  from  both  Houses  of  Parliament. 

And  lastly,  the  said  Committee  are  to  observe  such  orders  and 
directions  as  they,  from  time  to  time,  shall  receive  from  both 
Houses  of  Parliament ;  provided  also,  that  this  Ordinance  shall 
continue  for  three  months  and  no  longer. 


209.    The  Self-denying  Ordinance 

1645,  April  4.     Rushworth,  vi.  16.     Gardiner,  287,  288.) 

BE  it  ordained  by  the  Lords  and  Commons  assembled  in  Parlia- 
ment, that  all  and  every  of  the  members  of  either  House  of 
Parliament  shall  be,  and  by  authority  of  this  Ordinance  are,  dis- 
charged at  the  end  of  forty  days  after  the  passing  of  this  Ordinance, 
of  and  from  all  and  every  office  or  command  military  or  civil, 
granted  or  conferred  by  both  or  either  of  the  said  Houses  of  this 
present  Parliament,  or  by  any  authority  derived  from  both  or 
either  of  them  since  the  2oth  day  of  November,  1 640. 

And  be  it  further  ordained,  that  all  other  governors  and  com- 
manders of  an  island,  town,  castle  or  fort,  and  all  other  colonels 
and  officers  inferior  to  colonels  in  the  several  armies,  not  being 
members  of  either  of  the  Houses  of  Parliament,  shall,  according  to 
their  respective  commissions,  continue  in  their  several  places  and 
commands,  wherein  they  were  employed  and  intrusted  the  2oth 
day  of  March,  1644,  as  if  this  Ordinance  had  not  been  made. 
And  that  the  vice-admiral,  rear-admiral,  and  all  other  captains  and 
other  inferior  officers  in  the  fleet,  shall,  according  to  their  several 
and  respective  commissions,  continue  in  their  several  places  and 
commands,  wherein  they  were  employed  and  entrusted  the  said 
20th  day  of  March,  as  if  this  Ordinance  had  not  been  made. 

Provided  always,  and  it  is  further  ordained  and  declared,  that 
during  this  war,  the  benefit  of  all  offices,  being  neither  military  nor 
judicial,  hereafter  to  be  granted,  or  any  way  to  be  appointed  to 
any  person  or  persons  by  both  or  either  House  of  Parliament,  or 
by  authority  derived  from  thence,  shall  go  and  inure  to  such  pub- 
lic uses  as  both  Houses  of  Parliament  shall  appoint.  And  the 
grantees  and  persons  executing  all  such  offices  shall  be  accounta- 
ble to  the  Parliament  for  all  the  profits  and  perquisites  thereof, 


Act  erecting  a  High  Court  of  Justice       389 

and  shall  have  no  profit  out  of  any  such  office,  other  than  a  com- 
petent salary  for  the  execution  of  the  same,  in  such  manner  as 
both  Houses  of  Parliament  shall  order  and  ordain. 

Provided  that  this  Ordinance  shall  not  extend  to  take  away  the 
power  and  authority  of  any  Lieutenancy  or  Deputy- Lieutenancy  in 
the  several  counties,  cities  or  places,  or  of  any  Gustos  Rofulorum, 
or  of  any  commission  for  Justice  of  Peace,  or  sewers,  or  any  com- 
mission of  Oyer  and  Terminer,  or  gaol-deliver)'. 

Provided  always,  and  it  is  hereby  declared,  that  those  members 
of  either  House  who  had  offices  by  grant  from  His  Majesty  before 
this  Parliament,  and  were  by  His  Majesty  displaced  sitting  this 
Parliament,  and  have  since  by  authority  of  both  Houses  been 
restored,  shall  not  by  this  Ordinance  be  discharged  from  their 
said  offices  or  profits  thereof,  but  shall  enjoy  the  same ;  anything 
in  this  Ordinance  to  the  contrary  thereof  notwithstanding. 


210.    Act  erecting  a  High  Court  of  Justice  for 
the  Trial  of  Charles  I 

(Passed  the  Commons,  January  6,  164!.     Rushworth,  viii.  1379.) 

WHEREAS  it  is  notorious  that  Charles  Stuart,  the  now  King 
of  England,  not  content  with  those  many  encroachments 
which  his  predecessors  had  made  upon  the  people  in  their  rights 
and  freedoms,  hath  had  a  wicked  design  totally  to  subvert  the 
ancient  and  fundamental  laws  and  liberties  of  this  nation,  and  in 
their  place  to  introduce  an  arbitrary  and  tyrannical  government, 
and  that  besides  all  other  evil  ways  and  means  to  bring  this  design 
to  pass,  he  hath  prosecuted  it  with  fire  and  sword,  levied  and  main- 
tained a  civil  war  in  the  land,  against  the  Parliament  and  king- 
dom ;  whereby  the  country  hath  been  miserably  wasted,  the  public 
treasure  exhausted,  trade  decayed,  thousands  of  people  murdered, 
and  infinite  other  mischiefs  committed ;  for  all  which  high  and 
treasonable  offences  the  said  Charles  Stuart  might  long  since  justly 
have  been  brought  to  exemplary  and  condign  punishment : 
whereas  also  the  Parliament,  well  hoping  that  the  restraint  and 
imprisonment  of  his  person,  after  it  had  pleased  God  to  deliver 
him  into  their  hands,  would  have  quieted  the  distempers  of  the 
kingdom,  did  forbear  to  proceed  judicially  against  him,  but  found, 
by  sad  experience,  that  such  their  remissness  served  only  to  encour- 
age him  and  his  accomplices  in  the  continuance  of  their  evil  prac- 


390  English  Constitutional   Documents 

tices,  and  in  raising  new  commotions,  rebellions  and  invasions : 
for  prevention  therefore  of  the  like  or  greater  inconveniences,  and 
to  the  end  no  Chief  Officer  or  Magistrate  whatsoever  may  here- 
after presume,  traitorously  and  maliciously,  to  imagine  or  contrive 
the  enslaving  or  destroying  of  the  English  nation,  and  to  expect 
impunity  for  so  doing ;  be  it  enacted  and  ordained  by  the  Com- 
mons in  Parliament  and  it  is  hereby  enacted  and  ordained  by  the 
authority  thereof,  that  Thomas,  Lord  Fairfax,  Oliver  Cromwell, 
Henry  Ireton  [  *  *  *  135  names  in  all],  shall  be  and  are  hereby 
appointed  and  required  to  be  Commissioners  and  Judges  for  the 
hearing,  trying  and  adjudging  of  the  said  Charles  Stuart ;  and  the 
said  Commissioners,  or  any  twenty  or  more  of  them,  shall  be,  and 
are  hereby  authorised  and  constituted  an  High  Court  of  Justice, 
to  meet  and  sit  at  such  convenient  time  and  place  as  by  the  said 
Commissioners,  or  the  major  part  of  twenty  or  more  of  them, 
under  their  hands  and  seals,  shall  be  appointed  and  notified  by 
public  proclamation  in  the  Great  Hall  or  Palace  Yard  of  West- 
minster ;  and  to  adjourn  from  time  to  time,  and  from  place  to 
place,  as  the  said  High  Court,  or  the  major  part  thereof  meeting, 
shall  hold  fit;  and  to  take  order  for  the  charging  of  him,  the  said 
Charles  Stuart,  with  the  crimes  and  treasons  above  mentioned, 
and  for  receiving  his  personal  answer  thereunto,  and  for  examina- 
tion of  witnesses  upon  oath  (which  the  Court  hath  hereby  authority 
to  administer)  or  otherwise,  and  taking  any  other  evidence  con- 
cerning the  same  ;  and  thereupon,  or  in  default  of  such  answer,  to 
proceed  to  final  sentence  according  to  justice  and  the  merit  of  the 
cause ;  and  such  final  sentence  to  execute,  or  cause  be  to  exe- 
cuted, speedily  and  impartially. 

And  the  said  Court  is  hereby  authorised  and  required  to  appoint 
and  direct  all  such  officers,  attendants  and  other  circumstances 
as  they,  or  the  major  part  of  them,  shall  in  any  sort  judge  neces- 
sary or  useful  for  the  orderly  and  good  managing  of  the  premises. 
And  Thomas,  Lord  Fairfax,  the  General,  and  all  officers  and  soldiers 
under  his  command,  and  all  officers  of  justice,  and  other  well- 
affected  persons,  are  hereby  authorised  and  required  to  be  aiding 
and  assisting  unto  the  said  Court  in  the  due  execution  of  the  trust 
hereby  committed.  Provided  that  this  Act,  and  the  authority 
hereby  granted,  do  continue  in  force  for  the  space  of  one  month 
from  the  date  of  the  making  hereof,  and  no  longer. 


Sentence  of  the  High  Court  of  Justice      391 


211.    Sentence  of  the   High   Court  of  Justice 
upon  Charles  I 

(164!,  January  27.     Rushworth,  viii.  1420.     Gardiner,  377-380.) 

WHEREAS  the  Commons  of  England  assembled  in  Parliament, 
have  by  their  late  Act  entitled  '  An  Act  of  the  Commons  of 
England,  assembled  in  Parliament,  for  erecting  an  High  Court  of 
Justice  for  the  trying  and  judging  of  Charles  Stuart,  King  of  Eng- 
land,' authorised  and  constituted  us  an  High  Court  of  Justice  for 
the  trying  and  judging  of  the  said  Charles  Stuart  for  the  crimes  and 
treasons  in  the  said  Act  mentioned ;  by  virtue  whereof  the  said 
Charles  Stuart  hath  been  three  several  times  convented  before  this 
High  Court,  where  the  first  day,  being  Saturday,  the  2oth  of  Janu- 
ary, instant,  in  pursuance  of  the  said  Act,  a  charge  of  high  treason 
and  other  high  crimes  was,  in  the  behalf  of  the  people  of  England, 
exhibited  against  him,  and  read  openly  unto  him,  wherein  he  was 
charged,  that  he,  the  said  Charles  Stuart,  being  admitted  King  of 
England,  and  therein  trusted  with  a  limited  power  to  govern  by, 
and  according  to  the  law  of  the  land,  and  not  otherwise ;  and  by 
his  trust,  oath,  and  office,  being  obliged  to  use  the  power  com- 
mitted to  him  for  the  good  and  benefit  of  the  people,  and  for 
the  preservation  of  their  rights  and  liberties;  yet,  nevertheless, 
out  of  a  wicked  design  to  erect  and  uphold  in  himself  an  unlimited 
and  tyrannical  power  to  rule  according  to  his  will,  and  to  over- 
throw the  rights  and  liberties  of  the  people,  and  to  take  away 
and  make  void  the  foundations  thereof,  and  of  all  redress  and 
remedy  of  misgovernment,  which  by  the  fundamental  constitu- 
tions of  this  kingdom  were  reserved  on  the  people's  behalf  in 
the  right  and  power  of  frequent  and  successive  Parliaments,  or 
national  meetings  in  Council;  he,  the  said  Charles  Stuart,  for 
accomplishment  of  such  his  designs,  and  for  the  protecting  of  him- 
self and  his  adherents  in  his  and  their  wicked  practices,  to  the 
same  end  hath  traitorously  and  maliciously  levied  war  against  the 
present  Parliament  and  people  therein  represented,  as  with  the  cir- 
cumstances of  time  and  place  is  in  the  said  charge  more  particu- 
larly set  forth;  and  that  he  hath  thereby  caused  and  procured 
many  thousands  of  the  free  people  of  this  nation  to  be  slain ;  and 
by  divisions,  parties,  and  insurrections  within  this  land,  by  inva- 
sions from  foreign  parts,  endeavoured  and  procured  by  him,  and 
by  many  other  evil  ways  and  means,  he,  the  said  Charles  Stuart, 


392,  English  Constitutional  Documents 

hath  not  only  maintained  and  carried  on  the  said  war  both  by  sea 
and  land,  but  also  hath  renewed,  or  caused  to  be  renewed,  the  said 
war  against  the  Parliament  and  good  people  of  this  nation  in  this 
present  year  1648,  in  several  counties  and  places  in  this  kingdom  in 
the  charge  specified ;  and  that  he  hath  for  that  purpose  given  his 
commission  to  his  son,  the  Prince,  and  others,  whereby,  besides 
multitudes  of  other  persons,  many  such  as  were  by  the  Parliament 
entrusted  and  employed  for  the  safety  of  this  nation,  being  by  him 
or  his  agents  corrupted,  to  the  betraying  of  their  trust,  and  revolt- 
ing from  the  Parliament,  have  had  entertainment  and  commission 
for  the  continuing  and  renewing  of  the  war  and  hostility  against 
the  said  Parliament  and  people :  and  that  by  the  said  cruel  and 
unnatural  war  so  levied,  continued  and  renewed,  much  innocent 
blood  of  the  free  people  of  this  nation  hath  been  spilt,  many 
families  undone,  the  public  treasure  wasted,  trade  obstructed  and 
miserably  decayed,  vast  expense  and  damage  to  the  nation  incurred, 
and  many  parts  of  the  land  spoiled,  some  of  them  even  to  desola- 
tion ;  and  that  he  still  continues  his  commission  to  his  said  son, 
and  other  rebels  and  revolters,  both  English  and  foreigners,  and 
to  the  Earl  of  Ormond,  and  to  the  Irish  rebels  and  revolters  asso- 
ciated with  him,  from  whom  further  invasions  of  this  land  are 
threatened  by  his  procurement  and  on  his  behalf;  and  that  all  the 
said  wicked  designs,  wars,  and  evil  practices  of  him,  the  said 
Charles  Stuart,  were  still  carried  on  for  the  advancement  and 
upholding  of  the  personal  interest  of  will,  power,  and  pretended 
prerogative  to  himself  and  his  family,  against  the  public  interest, 
common  right,  liberty,  justice,  and  peace  of  the  people  of  this 
nation :  and  that  he  thereby  hath  been  and  is  the  occasioner, 
author,  and  continuer  of  the  said  unnatural,  cruel,  and  bloody 
wars,  and  therein  guilty  of  all  the  treasons,  murders,  rapines,  burn- 
ings, spoils,  desolations,  damage,  and  mischief  to  this  nation,  acted 
and  committed  in  the  said  wars,  or  occasioned  thereby ;  where- 
upon the  proceedings  and  judgment  of  this  Court  were  prayed 
against  him,  as  a  tyrant,  traitor,  and  murderer,  and  public  enemy 
to  the  Commonwealth,  as  by  the  said  charge  more  fully  appeareth. 
To  which  charge,  being  read  unto  him  as  aforesaid,  he,  the  said 
Charles  Stuart,  was  required  to  give  his  answer ;  but  he  refused  so 
to  do ;  and  upon  Monday,  the  22nd  day  of  January  instant,  being 
again  brought  before  this  Court,  and  there  required  to  answer 
directly  to  the  said  charge,  he  still  refused  so  to  do ;  whereupon 
his  default  and  contumacy  was  entered ;  and  the  next  day,  being 
the  third  time  brought  before  the  Court,  judgment  was  then  prayed 
against  him  on  the  behalf  of  the  people  of  England  for  his  contu- 


Sentence  of  the  High  Court  of  Justice      393 

macy,  and  for  the  matters  contained  against  him  in  the  said  charge, 
as  taking  the  same  for  confessed,  in  regard  of  his  refusing  to 
answer  thereto.  Yet  notwithstanding  this  Court  (not  willing  to  take 
advantage  of  his  contempt)  did  once  more  require  him  to  answer 
to  the  said  charge ;  but  he  again  refused  so  to  do ;  upon  which 
his  several  defaults,  this  Court  might  justly  have  proceeded  to 
judgment  against  him,  both  for  his  contumacy  and  the  matters  of 
the  charge,  taking  the  same  for  confessed  as  aforesaid. 

Yet  nevertheless  this  Court,  for  its  own  clearer  information  and 
further  satisfaction,  have  thought  fit  to  examine  witnesses  upon 
oath,  and  take  notice  of  other  evidences,  touching  the  matters  con- 
tained in  the  said  charge,  which  accordingly  they  have  done. 

Now,  therefore,  upon  serious  and  mature  deliberation  of  the 
premises,  and  consideration  had  of  the  notoriety  of  the  matters  of 
fact  charged  upon  him  as  aforesaid,  this  Court  is  in  judgment  and 
conscience  satisfied  that  he,  the  said  Charles  Stuart,  is  guilty  of 
levying  war  against  the  said  Parliament  and  people,  and  maintain- 
ing and  continuing  the  same ;  for  which  in  the  said  charge  he 
stands  accused,  and  by  the  general  course  of  his  government,  coun- 
sels, and  practices,  before  and  since  this  Parliament  began  (which 
have  been  and  are  notorious  and  public,  and  the  effects  whereof 
remain  abundantly  upon  record)  this  Court  is  fully  satisfied  in  their 
judgments  and  consciences,  that  he  has  been  and  is  guilty  of  the 
wicked  designs  and  endeavours  in  the  said  charge  set  forth ;  and 
that  the  said  war  hath  been  levied,  maintained,  and  continued  by 
him  as  aforesaid,  in  prosecution,  and  for  accomplishment  of  the 
said  designs ;  and  that  he  hath  been  and  is  the  occasioner,  author, 
and  continuer  of  the  said  unnatural,  cruel,  and  bloody  wars,  and 
therein  guilty  of  high  treason,  and  of  the  murders,  rapines,  burnings, 
spoils,  desolations,  damage,  and  mischief  to  this  nation  acted  and 
committed  in  the  said  war,  and  occasioned  thereby.  For  all  which 
treasons  and  crimes  this  Court  doth  adjudge  that  he,  the  said 
Charles  Stuart,  as  a  tyrant,  traitor,  murderer,  and  public  enemy  to 
the  good  people  of  this  nation,  shall  be  put  to  death  by  the  sever- 
ing of  his  head  from  his  body. 


394          English  Constitutional  Documents 

212.  The  Death  Warrant  of  Charles  I 

(164!,  January  29.     Rushworth,  viii.  1426.     Gardiner,  380.) 

At  the  High  Court  of  Justice  for  the  trying  and  judging  of  Charkl 
Stuart,  King  of  England,  Jan.  29,  Anno  Domini  1648. 

WHEREAS  Charles  Stuart,  King  of  England,  is,  and  standeth 
convicted,  attainted,  and  condemned  of  high  treason,  and 
other  high  crimes ;  and  sentence  upon  Saturday  last  was  pronounced 
against  him  by  this  Court,  to  be  put  to  death  by  the  severing  of  his 
head  from  his  body ;  of  which  sentence,  execution  yetremaineth  to 
be  done  :  these  are  therefore  to  will  and  require  you  to  see  the  said 
sentence  executed  in  the  open  street  before  Whitehall,  upon  the 
morrow,  being  the  thirtieth  day  of  this  instant  month  of  January, 
between  the  hours  of  ten  in  the  morning  and  five  in  the  afternoon 
of  the  same  day,  with  full  effect.  And  for  so  doing  this  shall  be 
your  sufficient  warrant.  And  these  are  to  require  all  officers,  sol- 
diers, and  others,  the  good  people  of  this  nation  of  England,  to  be 
assisting  unto  you  in  this  service. 

To  Col.  Francis  Hacker,  Col.  Huncks,  and  Lieut-Col.  Phayre, 
and  to  every  of  them. 

Given  under  our  hands  and  seals. 
JOHN  BRADSHAW. 
THOMAS  GREY. 
OLIVER  CROMWELL. 
[  *  *  *  59  names  in  all.] 

213.  Act  appointing  a  Council  of  State 

(164$,  February  13,  14.    Cobbett's  Parliamentary  History,  iii.  1288.    Gardiner 
381-383.) 

BE  it  ordained  and  enacted  by  this  present  Parliament  that  Basil, 
Earl  of  Denbigh,  Edmund,   Earl  of  Mulgrave  [  *  *  *  41 
names  in  all],  or  any  nine  of  them,  shall  be  a  Council  of  State, 
and  have  hereby  power,  and  are  authorised  to  put  in  execution 
the  following  instructions. 

i.   You  are  hereby  authorised  and  required  to  oppose  and  sup- 
press whomsoever  shall  endeavour  or  go  about  to  set  up  or  main- 


Act  appointing  a  Council  of  State          395 

tain  the  pretended  title  of  Charles  Stuart,  eldest  son  to  the  late 
King,  or  any  other  of  the  said  late  King's  issue,  or  claiming  under 
him  or  them,  or  the  pretended  title  or  claim  of  any  other  single 
person  whomsoever  to  the  Crown  of  England  or  Ireland,  dominion 
of  Wales,  or  to  any  of  the  dominions  or  territories  to  them  or  either 
of  them  belonging. 

2.  You  are  hereby  authorised   and  empowered  to  order  and 
direct  all  the  militias  and  forces  both  by  sea  and  land  of  England 
and  Ireland  and  the  dominions  to  them  or  either  of  them  belong- 
ing, for  preserving  the  peace  or  safety  thereof,  and  for  preventing, 
resisting,  and  suppressing  all  tumults  and  insurrections  that  shall 
happen  to  rise  in  them  or  either  of  them,  or  any  invasions  of  them 
from  abroad :  and  also  upon  any  emergencies  to  raise  and  arm 
such  forces  as  you  shall  judge  necessary  for  the  ends  above  ex- 
pressed ;  and  to  give  commissions  under  the  seal  of  the  Council 
to  such  officers  as  you  shall  judge  necessary  for  the  leading,  con- 
ducting and  commanding  of  the  said  forces ;  and  for  the  prose- 
cution and   pursuance   of  these   instructions,   or  of  any  other 
instructions  you  shall  receive  from  the  Parliament 

3.  You  are  hereby  authorised  and  required  to  use  all  good  ways 
and  means  for  the  reducing  of  Ireland,  the  isles  of  Jersey,  Guern- 
sey, Scilly,  and  the  Isle  of  Man,  and  all  other  parts  and  places  be- 
longing to  the  Commonwealth  of  England,  not  yet  reduced. 

4.  You  shall  take  care  that  the   stores   and  magazines  of  all 
military  provisions  both  for  the  land  service  and  for  the  sea  be 
from  time  to  time  well  and  sufficiently  furnished,  and  that  the 
same  be  issued  as  you  shall  by  warrant  direct :  and  you  are  also 
from  time  to  time  to  take  care  of  the  repair  of  the  shipping  belong- 
ing to  the  Commonwealth,  and  to  build  such  others  as  you  shall 
judge  necessary  for  the  defence  and  safety  thereof. 

5.  You  are  to  use  all  good  ways  and  means  for  the  securing, 
advancement,  and  encouragement  of  the  trade  of  England  and 
Ireland  and  the  dominions  to  them  belonging,  and  to  promote  the 
good  of  all  foreign  plantations  and  factories  belonging  to  this  Com- 
monwealth or  any  of  the  natives  thereof. 

6.  You  shall  advise,  order,  and  direct  concerning  the  entertain- 
ing, keeping,  renewing,  or  settling  of  amity  and  a  good  correspond- 
ency with  foreign  kingdoms  and   states,  and  for  preserving  the 
rights  of  the  people  of  this  nation  in  foreign  parts,  and  composing 
of  their  differences  there :  and  you  are  hereby  authorised  to  send 
ambassadors,  agents,  or  messengers  to  any  foreign  kingdom  or 
state,  and  to  receive  ambassadors,  agents,  or  messengers   from 
them  for  the  ends  aforesaid. 


396  English  Constitutional  Documents 

7.  You  are  to  advise  and  consult  of  anything  concerning  the 
good  of  this  Commonwealth,  and  report  your  opinions  concerning 
the  same  as  you  find  occasion  to  the  Parliament. 

8.  You  are  hereby  authorised  to  send  for  any  person  or  persons 
whatsoever  to  advise  with  them  in  pursuance  of  these  or  any  other 
instructions  that  shall  be  given  unto  you. 

9.  You  have  hereby  power  and  are  authorised  to  send  for  any 
records,  writings,  accounts,  books,  or  papers,  that  you  shall  think 
fit  for  your  information  in  any  cause,  matter  or  thing  in  agitation 
before  you,  in  pursuance  of  these  or  any  other  instructions  that 
shall  be  given  you  by  the  Parliament. 

10.  You  have  hereby  power  and  are  authorised  in  case  of  danger 
to  the  Commonwealth  to  administer  an  oath  to  any  person  or  per- 
sons for  the  discovery  of  the  truth. 

1 1 .  You  are  hereby  authorised  and  empowered  to  send  for  and 
imprison  or  otherwise  to  secure  by  taking  bond  in  recognizance 
any  such  person  or  persons  as  shall  be  offenders  against  these  or 
any  other  instructions  which  you  shall  receive  from  the  Parliament  ; 
and  all  such  as  shall  contemn  or  be  refractory  to  any  of  your  com- 
mands, directions,  or  orders  in  pursuance  of  the  said  instructions. 

12.  You  have  hereby  power  and  are  authorised  to  charge  the 
public  revenue  by  warrant  under  the  seal  of  the  Council  with  such 
sum  or  sums  of  money,  from  time  to  time  as  you  shall  find  necessary, 
for  defraying  all  charges  of  foreign  negotiations,  intelligence,  and 
other  incidencies ;  and  for  the  salary  of  such  subordinate  officers 
and  attendants  as  you  shall  judge  fit  to  employ,  and»for  the  effect- 
ual carrying  on  of  the  service  by  these  instructions  committed  to 
you,  or  by  any  other  instructions  hereafter  to  be  given  you  from 
the  Parliament. 

13.  You  are  also  to  observe  and  put  in  execution  such  further 
orders  as  you  shall  receive  from  time  to  time  from  the  Parliament. 

14.  The  power  .hereby  committed  to  the  Council  of  State  shall 
continue  for  the  space  of  one  year  from  the  day  of  passing  hereof, 
unless  it  be  otherwise  ordered  by  the  Parliament. 

15.  You  have  also  hereby  power  to  appoint  committees  or  any 
person  or  persons  for  examinations,  receiving  of  informations,  and 
preparing  of  business  for  your  debates  or  resolutions. 

1 6.  You  are  to  meet  at  Derby  House  at  four  of  the  clock  this 
afternoon,  and  from  time  to  time  and  from  place  to  place  as  you 
shall  see  cause,  and  in  such  manner  as  you  shall  think  fit  for  the 
execution  of  your  instructions. 


Act  abolishing  the  Office  of  King          397 
214.    Act  abolishing  the  Office  of  King 

(164!,  March  17.     Scobell,  ii.  7.    Gardiner,  384-387.) 

T 1  7HEREAS  Charles  Stuart,  late  King  of  England,  Ireland,  and 
W  the  territories  and  dominions  thereunto  belonging,  hath  by 
authority  derived  from  Parliament  been  and  is  hereby  declared  to 
be  justly  condemned,  adjudged  to  die,  and  put  to  death,  for  many 
treasons,  murders,  and  other  heinous  offences  committed  by  him, 
by  which  judgment  he  stood,  and  is  hereby  declared  to  be,  attainted 
of  high  treason,  whereby  his  issue  and  posterity,  and  all  others 
pretending  title  under  him,  are  become  incapable  of  the  said 
Crown,  or  of  being  King  or  Queen  of  the  said  kingdom  or 
dominions,  or  either  or  any  of  them ;  be  it  therefore  enacted  and 
ordained,  and  it  is  enacted,  ordained,  and  declared  by  this  present 
Parliament,  and  by  authority  thereof,  that  all  the  people  of  England 
and  Ireland,  and  the  dominions  and  territories  thereunto  belong- 
ing, of  what  degree  or  condition  soever,  are  discharged  of  all  fealty, 
homage,  and  allegiance  which  is  or  shall  be  pretended  to  be  due 
unto  any  of  the  issue  and  posterity  of  the  said  late  King,  or  any 
claiming  under  him  ;  and  that  Charles  Stuart,  eldest  son,  and 
James,  called  Duke  of  York,  second  son,  and  all  other  the  issue 
and  posterity  of  him  the  said  late  King,  and  all  and  every  person 
and  persons  pretending  title  from,  by,  or  under  him,  are  and  be 
disabled  to  hold  or  enjoy  the  said  Crown  of  England  and  Ireland, 
and  other  the  dominions  thereunto  belonging,  or  any  of  them ;  or 
to  have  the  name,  title,  style,  or  dignity  of  King  or  Queen  of  Eng- 
land and  Ireland,  Prince  of  Wales,  or  any  of  them ;  or  to  have  and 
enjoy  the  power  and  dominion  of  the  said  kingdom  and  dominions, 
or  any  of  them,  or  the  honours,  manors,  lands,  tenements,  posses- 
sions, and  hereditaments  belonging  or  appertaining  to  the  said 
Crown  of  England  and  Ireland,  and  other  the  dominions  aforesaid, 
or  to  any  of  them  ;  or  to  the  Principality  of  Wales,  Duchy  of  Lan- 
caster or  Cornwall,  or  any  or  either  of  them,  any  law,  statute, 
ordinance,  usage,  or  custom  to  the  contrary  hereof  in  any  wise 
notwithstanding. 

II.  And  whereas  it  is  and  hath  been  found  by  experience,  that 
the  office  of  a  King  in  this  nation  and  Ireland,  and  to  have  the 
power  thereof  in  any  single  person,  is  unnecessary,  burdensome, 
and  dangerous  to  the  liberty,  safety,  and  public  interest  of  the 
people,  and  that  for  the  most  part,  use  hath  been  made  of  the 
regal  power  and  prerogative  to  oppress  and  impoverish  and  enslave 


398  English  Constitutional  Documents 

the  subject ;  and  that  usually  and  naturally  any  one  person  in  such 
power  makes  it  his  interest  to  encroach  upon  the  just  freedom  and 
liberty  of  the  people,  and  to  promote  the  setting  up  of  their  own 
will  and  power  above  the  laws,  that  so  they  might  enslave  these 
kingdoms  to  their  own  lust ;  be  it  therefore  enacted  and  ordained 
by  this  present  Parliament,  and  by  authority  of  the  same,  that  the 
office  of  a  King  in  this  nation  shall  not  henceforth  reside  in  or  be 
exercised  by  any  one  single  person ;  and  that  no  one  person  what- 
soever shall  or  may  have,  or  hold  the  office,  style,  dignity,  power, 
or  authority  of  King  of  the  said  kingdoms  and  dominions,  or  any 
of  them,  or  of  the  Prince  of  Wales,  any  law,  statute,  usage,  or 
custom  to  the  contrary  thereof  in  any  wise  notwithstanding. 

III.  And  it  is  hereby  enacted,  that  if  any  person  or  persons 
shall  endeavour  to  attempt  by  force  of  arms  or  otherwise,  or  be 
aiding,  assisting,  comforting,  or  abetting  unto  any  person  or  per- 
sons that  shall  by  any  ways  or  means  whatsoever  endeavour  or 
attempt  the  reviving  or  setting  up  again  of  any  pretended  right  of 
the  said  Charles,  eldest  son  to  the  said  late  King,  James  called 
Duke  of  York,  or  of  any  other  the  issue  and  posterity  of  the  said 
late  King,  or  of  any  person  or  persons  claiming  under  him  or  them, 
to  the  said  regal  office,  style,  dignity,  or  authority,  or  to  be  Prince 
of  Wales ;  or  the  promoting  of  any  one  person  whatsoever  to  the 
name,  style,  dignity,  power,  prerogative,  or  authority  of  King  of 
England  and  Ireland,  and  dominions  aforesaid,  or  any  of  them  ; 
that  then  every  such  offence  shall  be  deemed  and  adjudged  high 
treason,  and   the  offenders  therein,  their  counsellors,  procurers, 
aiders  and  abettors,  being  convicted  of  the  said  offence,  or  any 
of  them,  shall  be  deemed  and  adjudged  traitors  against  the  Par- 
liament and  people  of  England,  and  shall  suffer,  lose,  and  forfeit, 
and  have  such  like  and  the  same  pains,  forfeitures,  judgments,  and 
execution  as  is  used  in  case  of  high  treason. 

IV.  And  whereas  by  the  abolition  of  the  kingly  office  provided 
for  in  this  Act,  a  most  happy  way  is  made  for  this  nation  (if  God 
see  it  good)  to  return  to  its  just  and  ancient  right,  of  being  gov- 
erned by  its  own  Representatives  or  national  meetings  in  council, 
from  time  to  time  chosen  and  entrusted  for  that  purpose  by  the 
people,  it  is  therefore  resolved  and  declared  by  the   Commons 
assembled  in  Parliament,  that  they  will  put  a  period  to  the  sitting 
of  this  present  Parliament,  and  dissolve  the  same  so  soon,  as  may 
possibly  stand  with  the  safety  of  the  people  that  hath  betrusted 
them,  and  with  what  is  absolutely  necessary  for  the  preserving  and 
upholding  the  Government  now  settled  in  the  way  of  a  Common- 
wealth ;  and  that  they  will  carefully  provide  for  the  certain  choos- 


Act  abolishing  the  House  of  Lords         399 

ing,  meeting,  and  sitting  of  the  next  and  future  Representatives, 
with  such  other  circumstances  of  freedom  in  choice  and  equality 
in  distribution  of  members  to  be  elected  thereunto,  as  shall  most 
conduce  to  the  lasting  freedom  and  good  of  this  Commonwealth. 
V.  And  it  is  hereby  further  enacted  and  declared,  notwithstand- 
ing anything  contained  in  this  Act,  no  person  or  persons  of  what 
condition  and  quality  soever,  within  the  commonwealth  of  Eng- 
land and  Ireland,  dominion  of  Wales,  the  islands  of  Guernsey  and 
Jersey,  and  town  of  Berwick-upon-Tweed,  shall  be  discharged 
from  the  obedience  and  subjection  which  he  and  they  owe  to  the 
Government  of  this  nation,  as  it  is  now  declared,  but  all  and  every 
of  them  shall  in  all  things  render  aud  perform  the  same,  as  of 
right  is  due  unto  the  supreme  authority  hereby  declared  to  reside 
in  this  and  the  successive  Representatives  of  the  people  of  this 
nation,  and  in  them  only. 


215.    Act  abolishing  the  House  of  Lords 

(164$,  March  19.     Scobell,ii.&    Gardiner,  387,  388.) 

*T"*HE  Commons  of  England  assembled  in  Parliament,  finding  by 
A  too  long  experience  that  the  House  of  Lords  is  useless  and 
dangerous  to  the  people  of  England  to  be  continued,  have  thought 
fit  to  ordain  and  enact,  and  be  it  ordained  and  enacted  by  this 
present  Parliament,  and  by  the  authority  of  the  same,  that  from 
henceforth  the  House  of  Lords  in  Parliament  shall  be  and  is  hereby 
wholly  abolished  and  taken  away ;  and  that  the  Lords  shall  not 
from  henceforth  meet  or  sit  in  the  said  House  called  the  Lords' 
House,  or  in  any  other  house  or  place  whatsoever,  as  a  House  of 
Lords ;  nor  shall  sit,  vote,  advise,  adjudge,  or  determine  of  any 
matter  or  thing  whatsoever,  as  a  House  of  Lords  in  Parliament : 
nevertheless  it  is  hereby  declared,  that  neither  such  Lords  as  have 
demeaned  themselves  with  honour,  courage,  and  fidelity  to  the 
Commonwealth,  nor  then-  posterities  who  shall  continue  so,  shall 
be  excluded  from  the  public  councils  of  the  nation,  but  shall  be 
admitted  thereunto,  and  have  their  free  vote  hi  Parliament,  if  they 
shall  be  thereunto  elected,  as  other  persons  of  interest  elected  and 
qualified  thereunto  ought  to  have. 

II.  And  be  it  further  ordained  and  enacted  by  the  authority 
aforesaid,  that  no  Peer  of  this  land,  not  being  elected,  qualified 
and  sitting  in  Parliament  as  aforesaid,  shall  claim,  have,  or  make 


400  English  Constitutional  Documents 

use  of  any  privilege  of  Parliament,  either  in  relation  to  his  person, 
quality,  or  estate,  any  law,  usage,  or  custom  to  the  contrary  not- 
withstanding. 


2 1 6.    Act  declaring  England  to  be  a  Com- 
monwealth 

(1649,  May  19.     Scobell,  ii.  30.    Gardiner,  388.) 

BE  it  declared  and  enacted  by  this  present  Parliament,  and  by 
the  authority  of  the  same,  that  the  people  of  England,  and 
of  all  the  dominions  and  territories  thereunto  belonging,  are  and 
shall  be,  and  are  hereby  constituted,  made,  established,  and  con- 
firmed, to  be  a  Commonwealth  and  Free  State,  and  shall  from 
henceforth  be  governed  as  a  Commonwealth  and  Free  State  by 
the  supreme  authority  of  this  nation,  the  representatives  of  the 
people  in  Parliament,  and  by  such  as  they  shall  appoint  and  con- 
stitute as  officers  and  ministers  under  them  for  the  good  of  the 
people,  and  that  without  any  King  or  House  of  Lords. 


217.    Act  declaring  what  Offences  shall  be  ad- 
judged Treason  under  the  Commonwealth 

(1650,  July  17.     Scobell,  ii.  65.     Gardiner,  388-391.) 

WHEREAS  the  Parliament  hath  abolished  the  kingly  office 
in  England  and  Ireland,  and  in  the  dominions  and  terri- 
tories thereunto  belonging ;  and  having  resolved  and  declared, 
that  the  people  shall  for  the  future  be  governed  by  its  own  Repre- 
sentatives or  national  meetings  in  Council,  chosen  and  entrusted 
by  them  for  that  purpose,  hath  settled  the  Government  in  the  way 
of  a  Commonwealth  and  Free  State,  without  King  or  House  of 
Lords :  be  it  enacted  by  this  present  Parliament,  and  by  the 
authority  of  the  same,  that  if  any  person  shall  maliciously  or  advis- 
edly publish,  by  writing,  printing,  or  openly  declaring,  that  the  said 
Government  is  tyrannical,  usurped,  or  unlawful ;  or  that  the  Com- 
mons in  Parliament  assembled  are  not  the  supreme  authority  of 
this  nation;  or  shall  plot,  contrive,  or  endeavour  to  stir  up,  or 
raise  force  against  the  present  Government,  or  for  the  subversion 


Act  concerning  Treason  under  Commonwealth     401 

or  alteration  of  the  same,  and  shall  declare  the  same  by  any  open 
deed,  that  then  every  such  offence  shall  be  taken,  deemed,  and 
adjudged  by  authority  of  this  Parliament  to  be  high  treason. 

II.  And  whereas  the  Keepers  of  the  liberty  of  England,  and 
the  Council  of  State,  constituted,  and  to  be   from  time  to  time 
constituted,  by  authority  of  Parliament,  are  to  be  under  the  said 
representatives  in  Parliament   entrusted  for  the  maintenance  of 
the  said  Government  with  several  powers  and  authorities  limited, 
given,  and  appointed  unto  them  by  the  Parliament :  be  it  like- 
wise enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  that  if  any  person  shall 
maliciously  and  advisedly  plot  or  endeavour  the  subversion  of  the 
said  Keepers  of  the  liberty  of  England,  or  the  Council  of  State, 
and  the  same  shall  declare  by  any  open  deed,  or  shall  move  any 
person  or  persons  for  the  doing  thereof,  or  stir  up  the  people  to 
rise  against  them,  or  either  of  them,  their  or  either  of  their  author- 
ities, that  then  every  such   offence  and  offences  shall  be  taken, 
deemed,  and  declared  to  be  high  treason. 

III.  And  whereas  the  Parliament,   for  their   just  and  lawful 
defence,  hath  raised  and  levied  the  army  and  forces  now  under 
the  command  of  Thomas,  Lord  Fairfax,  and  are  at  present  necessi- 
tated, by  reason  of  the  manifold  distractions  within  this  Common- 
wealth, and   invasions  threatened  from  abroad,  to   continue  the 
same,  which  under  God  must  be  the  instrumental  means  of  pre- 
serving the  well-affected  people  of  this  nation  in  peace  and  safety ; 
be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  that  if  any  person, 
not  being  an  officer,  soldier,  or  member  of  the  army,  shall  plot, 
contrive,  or  endeavour  to  stir  up  any  mutiny  in  the  said  army,  or 
withdraw  any  soldiers  or  officers   from  their  obedience  to  their 
superior  officers,  or  from  the  present  Government  as  aforesaid  ;  or 
shall  procure,  invite,  aid,  or  assist  any  foreigners  or  strangers  to 
invade  England  or  Ireland ;  or  shall  adhere  to  any  forces  raised 
by  the  enemies  of  the  Parliament  or  Commonwealth,  or  Keepers  of 
the   liberty  of  England ;   or  if  any  person   shall  counterfeit  the 
Great  Seal  of  England,  for  the  time  being,  used  and  appointed  by 
authority  of  Parliament ;  that  then  every  such  offence  and  offences 
shall  be  taken,  deemed,  and  declared  by  authority  of  this  Parlia- 
ment to  be  high  treason,  and  every  such  persons  shall  suffer  pains 
of  death  ;  and  also  forfeit  unto  the  Keepers  of  the  liberty  of  Eng- 
land, to  and  for  the  use  of  the  Commonwealth,  all  and  singular 
his  and  their  lands,  tenements  and  hereditaments,  goods  and  chat- 
tels, as  in  case  of  high  treason  hath  been  used  by  the  laws  and 
statutes  of  this  land  to  be  forfeit  and  lost. 

IV.  Provided  always,  that  no   persons  shall  be  indicted  and 


402  English  Constitutional  Documents 

arraigned  for  any  of  the  offences  mentioned  in  this  Act,  unless 
such  offenders  shall  be  indicted  and  prosecuted  for  the  same  within 
one  year  after  the  offence  committed. 

V.  And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  that 
if  any  person  shall  counterfeit  the  money  of  this  Commonwealth, 
or  shall  bring  any  false  money  into  this  land,  counterfeit  or  other, 
like  to  the  money  of  this  Commonwealth,  knowing  the  money  to 
be  false,  to  merchandise  or  make  payment,  in  deceit  of  the  people 
of-  this  nation ;  or  if  any  person  shall  hereafter  falsely  forge  and 
counterfeit  any  such  kind  of  coin  of  gold  or  silver,  as  is  not  the 
proper  coin  of  this  Commonwealth,  and  is  or  shall  be  current  within 
this  nation,  by  consent  of  the  Parliament,  or  such  as  shall  be  by 
them  authorised  thereunto ;  or  shall  bring  from  the  parts  beyond 
the  seas  into  this  Commonwealth,  or  into  any  the  dominions  of 
the  same,  any  such  false  and  counterfeit  coin  of  money,  being  cur- 
rent within  the  same,  as  is  above  said,  knowing  the  same  money 
to  be  false  and  counterfeit,  to  the  intent  to  utter  or  make  payment 
with   the    same  within  this  Commonwealth,  by  merchandise  or 
otherwise ;  or  if  any  person  shall  impair,  diminish,  falsify,  clip, 
wash,  round  or  file,  scale  or  lighten,  for  wicked  lucre  or  gain's 
sake,  any  the  proper  monies  or  coins  of  this  Commonwealth,  or  the 
dominions  thereof,  or  of  the  monies  or  coins  of  any  other  realm, 
allowed  and  suffered  to  be  current  within  this  Commonwealth,  or 
the  dominions  thereof,  that  then  all  and  every  such  offences  above- 
mentioned,  shall  be  and  are  hereby  deemed  and  adjudged  high 
treason,  and  the   offenders  therein,  their  counsellors,  procurers, 
aiders  and  abettors,  being  convicted  according  to  the  laws  of  this 
nation  of  any  of  the  said  offences,  shall  be  deemed  and  adjudged 
traitors  against  this  Commonwealth,  and  shall  suffer  and  have  such 
pains  of  death  and  forfeitures,  as  in  case  of  high  treason  is  used 
and  ordained. 

VI.  Provided  always,  and  be  it  enacted  by  the  authority  afore- 
said, that  this  Act  touching  the  monies  and  coins  aforesaid,  or  any- 
thing therein  contained,  nor  any  attainder  of  any  person  for  the' 
same,  shall  in  any  wise  extend  or  be  judged  to  make  any  corrup- 
tion of  blood  to  any  the  heir  or  heirs  of  any  such  offender,  or  to 
make  the  wife  of  any  such  offender  to  lose  or  forfeit  her  dower, 
of  or  in  any  lands,  tenements,  or  hereditaments,  or  her  title,  action, 
or  interest  in  the  same. 


Declaration  by  Oliver  Cromwell  403 

2 1 8.  Declaration  by  Oliver  Cromwell  and  the 
Council  of  Officers  after  putting  an  End  to 
the  Long  Parliament 

(1653,  April  22.     Cobbett's  Parliamentary  History,  iii.  1386.     Gardiner, 
400-404.) 

OUR  intention  is  not  to  give  an  account,  at  this  time,  of  the 
grounds  which  first  moved  us  to  take  up  arms,  and  engage 
our  lives  and  all  that  was  dear  unto  us  in  this  cause  ;  nor  to  mind, 
in  this  declaration,  the  various  dispensations  through  which  Divine 
Providence  hath  led  us,  or  the  witness  the  Lord  hath  borne,  and 
the  many  signal  testimonies  of  acceptance  which  He  hath  given, 
to  the  sincere  endeavours  of  His  unworthy  servants,  whilst  they 
were  contesting  with  the  many  and  great  difficulties,  as  well  in  the 
wars,  as  other  transactions  in  the  three  nations ;  being  necessitated, 
for  the  defence  of  the  same  cause  they  first  asserted,  to  have  re- 
course unto  extraordinary  actions,  the  same  being  evident  by 
former  declarations  published  on  that  behalf. 

After  it  had  pleased  God  not  only  to  reduce  Ireland  and  give  in 
Scotland,  but  so  marvellously  to  appear  for  His  people  at 
Worcester,  that  these  nations  were  reduced  to  a  great  degree  of 
peace,  and  England  to  perfect  quiet,  and  thereby  the  Parliament 
had  opportunity  to  give  the  people  the  harvest  of  all  their  labour, 
blood,  and  treasure,  and  to  settle  a  due  liberty  both  in  reference 
to  civil  and  spiritual  things,  whereunto  they  were  obliged  by  their 
duty,  their  engagements,  as  also  the  great  and  wonderful  things 
which  God  hath  wrought  for  them  ;  it  was  matter  of  much  grief  to 
the  good  and  well-affected  of  the  land  to  observe  the  little  progress 
which  was  made  therein,  who  thereupon  applied  to  the  army,  ex- 
pecting redress  by  their  means  ;  notwithstanding  which,  the  army 
being  unwilling  to  meddle  with  the  civil  authority  in  matters  so 
properly  appertaining  to  it,  it  was  agreed,  that  his  Excellency  and 
officers  of  the  army  which  were  members  of  Parliament,  should  be 
desired  to  move  the  Parliament  to  proceed  vigorously  in  reforming 
what  was  amiss  in  government,  and  to  the  settling  of  the  Common- 
wealth upon  a  foundation  of  justice  and  righteousness;  which  hav- 
ing done,  we  hoped  that  the  Parliament  would  seasonably  have 
answered  our  expectation  :  but  finding,  to  our  grief,  delays  therein, 
we  renewed  our  desires  in  an  humble  petition  to  them,  which  was 
presented  in  August  last ;  and  although  they  at  that  time,  signifying 


404  English  Constitutional  Documents 

their  good  acceptance  thereof,  returned  us  thanks  and  referred  the 
particulars  thereof  to  a  Committee  of  the  House,  yet  no  considera- 
ble effect  was  produced,  nor  any  such  progress  made,  as  might 
imply  their  real  intentions  to  accomplish  what  was  petitioned  for : 
but,  on  the  contrary,  there  more  and  more  appeared  amongst 
them  an  aversion  to  the  things  themselves,  with  much  bitterness 
and  opposition  to  the  people  of  God,  and  His  spirit  acting  in 
them  ;  which  grew  so  prevalent,  that  those  persons  of  honour  and 
integrity  amongst  them,  who  had  eminently  appeared  for  God  and 
the  public  good,  both  before  and  throughout  this  war,  were  ren- 
dered of  no  further  use  in  Parliament,  than  by  meeting  with  a  cor- 
rupt party  to  give  them  countenance  to  carry  on  their  ends,  and 
for  effecting  the  desire  they  had  of  perpetuating  themselves  in  the 
supreme  government,  for  which  purpose  the  said  party  long  op- 
posed, and  frequently  declared  themselves  against  having  a  new 
Representative  :  and  when  they  saw  themselves  necessitated  to  take 
that  Bill  into  consideration,  they  resolved  to  make  use  of  it  to 
recruit  the  House  with  persons  of  the  same  spirit  and  temper, 
thereby  to  perpetuate  their  own  sitting  ;  which  intention  divers  of 
the  activest  amongst  them  did  manifest,  labouring  to  persuade 
others  to  a  consent  therein  :  and  the  better  to  effect  this,  divers 
petitions,  preparing  from  several  counties  for  the  continuance  of 
this  Parliament,  were  encouraged,  if  not  set  on  foot,  by  many  of 
them. 

For  obviating  of  these  evils,  the  officers  of  the  Army  obtained 
several  meetings  with  some  of  the  Parliament,  to  consider  what 
fitting  means  and  remedy  might  be  applied  to  prevent  the  same  : 
but  such  endeavours  proving  altogether  ineffectual,  it  became  most 
evident  to  the  Army,  as  they  doubt  not  it  also  is  to  all  considering 
persons,  that  this  Parliament,  through  the  corruption  of  some,  the 
jealousy  of  others,  the  non-attendance  and  negligence  of  many, 
would  never  answer  those  ends  which  God,  His  people,  and  the 
whole  nation  expected  from  them ;  but  that  this  cause,  which  the 
Lord  hath  so  greatly  blessed  and  borne  witness  to,  must  needs 
languish  under  their  hands,  and,  by  degrees,  be  wholly  lost ;  and 
the  lives,  liberties,  and  comforts  of  His  people  delivered  into  their 
enemies'  hands. 

All  which  being  sadly  and  seriously  considered  by  the  honest 
people  of  this  nation,  as  well  as  by  the  Army,  and  wisdom  and 
direction  being  sought  from  the  Lord,  it  seemed  to  be  a  duty 
incumbent  upon  us,  who  had  seen  so  much  of  the  power  and 
presence  of  God  going  along  with  us,  to  consider  of  some  more 
effectual  means  to  secure  the  cause  which  the  good  people  of  this 


Declaration  by  Oliver  Cromwell  405 

Commonwealth  had  been  so  long  engaged  in,  and  to  establish 
righteousness  and  peace  in  these  nations. 

And  after  much  debate  it  was  judged  necessary,  and  agreed 
upon,  that  the  supreme  authority  should  be,  by  the  Parliament, 
devolved  upon  known  persons,  men  fearing  God,  and  of  approved 
integrity ;  and  the  government  of  the  Commonwealth  committed 
unto  them  for  a  time,  as  the  most  hopeful  way  to  encourage  and 
countenance  all  God's  people,  reform  the  law,  and  administer 
justice  impartially;  hoping  thereby  the  people  might  forget 
Monarchy,  and,  understanding  their  true  interest  in  the  election  of 
successive  Parliaments,  may  have  the  government  settled  upon  a 
true  basis,  without  hazard  to  this  glorious  cause,  or  necessitating 
to  keep  up  armies  for  the  defence  of  the  same.  And  being  still 
resolved  to  use  all  means  possible  to  avoid  extraordinary  courses, 
we  prevailed  with  about  twenty  members  of  Parliament  to  give  us 
a  conference,  with  whom  we  freely  and  plainly  debated  the  neces- 
sity and  justness  of  our  proposals  on  that  behalf;  and  did  evidence 
that  those,  and  not  the  Act  under  their  consideration,  would  most 
probably  bring  forth  something  answerable  to  that  work,  the 
foundation  whereof  God  Himself  hath  laid,  and  is  now  carrying  oa 
in  the  world. 

The  which,  notwithstanding,  found  no  acceptance  ;  but,  instead 
thereof,  it  was  offered,  that  the  way  was  to  continue  still  this  pres- 
ent Parliament,  as  being  that  from  which  we  might  reasonably 
expect  all  good  things :  and  this  being  vehemently  insisted  upon, 
did  much  confirm  us  in  our  apprehensions,  that  not  any  love  to  a 
Representative,  but  the  making  use  thereof  to  recruit,  and  so  per- 
petuate themselves,  was  their  aim. 

They  being  plainly  dealt  with  about  this,  and  told  that  neither 
the  nation,  the  honest  interest,  nor  we  ourselves  would  be  deluded 
by  such  dealings,  they  did  agree  to  meet  again  the  next  day  in  the 
afternoon  for  mutual  satisfaction ;  it  being  consented  unto  by  the 
members  present  that  endeavours  should  be  used  that  nothing  in 
the  mean  time  should  be  done  in  Parliament  that  might  exclude 
or  frustrate  the  proposals  before  mentioned. 

Notwithstanding  this,  the  next  morning  the  Parliament  did  make 
more  haste  than  usual  in  carrying  on  their  said  Act,  being  helped 
on  therein  by  some  of  the  persons  engaged  to  us  the  night  before ; 
none  of  them  which  were  then  present  endeavouring  to  oppose 
the  same ;  and  being  ready  to  put  the  main  question  for  consum- 
mating the  said  Act,  whereby  our  aforesaid  proposals  would  have 
been  rendered  void,  and  the  way  of  bringing  them  into  a  fair  and 
full  debate  in  Parliament  obstructed ;  for  preventing  thereof,  and 


406          English  Constitutional  Documents 

all  the  sad  and  evil  consequences  which  must,  upon  the  grounds 
aforesaid,  have  ensued ;  and  whereby,  at  one  blow,  the  interest  of 
all  honest  men  and  of  this  glorious  cause  had  been  in  danger  to  be 
laid  in  the  dust,  and  these  nations  embroiled  in  new  troubles,  at  a 
time  when  our  enemies  abroad  are  watching  all  advantages  against 
us,  and  some  of  them  actually  engaged  in  war  with  us,  we  have 
been  necessitated,  though  with  much  reluctancy,  to  put  an  end  to 
this  Parliament;  which  yet  we  have  done,  we  hope,  out  of  an 
honest  heart,  preferring  this  cause  above  our  names,  lives,  families, 
or  interests,  how  dear  soever ;  with  clear  intentions  and  real  pur- 
poses of  heart,  to  call  to  the  government  persons  of  approved  fidel- 
ity and  honesty;  believing  that  as  no  wise  men  will  expect  to 
gather  grapes  of  thorns,  so  good  men  will  hope,  that  if  persons  so 
qualified  be  chosen,  the  fruits  of  a  just  and  righteous  reformation, 
so  long  prayed  and  wished  for,  will,  by  the  blessing  of  God,  be  in 
due  time  obtained,  to  the  refreshing  of  all  those  good  hearts  who 
have  been  panting  after  those  things. 

Much  more  might  have  been  said,  if  it  had  been  our  desire  to 
justify  ourselves  by  aspersing  others,  and  raking  into  the  misgov- 
ernment  of  affairs ;  but  we  shall  conclude  with  this,  that  as  we 
have  been  led  by  necessity  and  Providence  to  act  as  we  have  done, 
even  beyond  and  above  our  own  thoughts  and  desires,  so  we  shall 
and  do,  in  that  part  of  this  great  work  which  is  behind,  put  our- 
selves wholly  upon  the  Lord  for  a  blessing ;  professing,  we  look 
not  to  stand  one  day  without  His  support,  much  less  to  bring  to 
pass  any  of  the  things  mentioned  and  desired,  without  His  assist- 
ance ;  and  therefore  do  solemnly  desire  and  expect  that  all  men, 
as  they  would  not  provoke  the  Lord  to  their  own  destruction, 
should  wait  for  such  issue  as  He  should  bring  forth,  and  to  follow 
their  business  with  peaceable  spirits,  wherein  we  promise  them 
protection  by  His  assistance. 

And  for  those  who  profess  their  fear  and  love  to  the  name  of 
God,  that  seeing  in  a  great  measure  for  their  sakes,  and  for  right- 
eousness' sake,  we  have  taken  our  lives  in  our  hands  to  do  these 
things,  they  would  be  instant  with  the  Lord  day  and  night  on  our 
behalfs,  that  we  may  obtain  grace  from  Him  ;  and  seeing  we  have 
made  so  often  mention  of  His  name,  that  we  may  not  do  the  least 
dishonour  thereunto :  which  indeed  would  be  our  confusion,  and 
a  stain  to  the  whole  profession  of  Godliness. 

We  beseech  them  also  to  live  in  all  humility,  meekness,  right- 
eousness, and  love  one  toward  another,  and  towards  all  men,  that 
so  they  may  put  to  silence  the  ignorance  of  the  foolish,  who  falsely 
accuse  them,  and  to  know  that  the  late  great  and  glorious  dispen- 


The  Instrument  of  Government  407 

sations,  wherein  the  Lord  hath  so  wonderfully  appeared  in  bring- 
ing forth  these  things  by  the  travail  and  blood  of  His  children, 
ought  to  oblige  them  so  to  walk  in  the  wisdom  and  love  of  Christ, 
as  may  cause  others  to  honour  their  holy  profession,  because  they 
see  Christ  to  be  in  them  of  a  truth. 

We  do  further  purpose,  before  it  be  long,  more  particularly  to 
show  the  grounds  of  our  proceedings,  and  the  reasons  of  this  late 
great  action  and  change,  which  in  this  we  have  but  hinted  at. 

And  we  do  lastly  declare,  that  all  Judges,  Sheriffs,  Justices  of 
the  Peace,  Mayors,  Bailiffs,  Committees,  and  Commissioners,  and 
all  other  civil  officers  and  public  ministers  whatsoever,  within  this 
Commonwealth,  or  any  parts  thereof,  do  proceed  in  their  respec- 
tive places  and  offices ;  and  all  persons  whatsoever  are  to  give 
obedience  to  them  as  fully  as  when  Parliament  was  sitting. 

Signed  in  the  name,  and  by  the  appointment,  of  his  Excellency 
the  Lord  General  and  his  Council  of  Officers. 

WILL.  MALYN,  Secretary. 


219.    The  Instrument  of  Government 

(1653,  December  16.    Cobbett's  Parliamentary  History,  iii.  1417.    The  whole 
reprinted  in  Gardiner,  405-417.) 


government  of  the  Commonwealth  of  England,  Scotland, 
A    and  Ireland,  and  the  dominions  thereunto  belonging  : 

I.  That  the  supreme  legislative  authority  of  the  Commonwealth 
of  England,  Scotland,  and  Ireland,  and  the  dominions  thereunto 
belonging,  shall  be  and  reside  in  one  person,  and  the  people 
assembled  in  Parliament  ;  the  style  of  which  person  shall  be  the 
Lord  Protector  of  the  Commonwealth  of  England,  Scotland,  and 
Ireland. 

II.  That  the  exercise  of  the  chief  magistracy  and  the  adminis- 
tration of  the  government  over  the  said  countries  and  the  domin- 
ions, and  the  people  thereof,  shall  be  in  the  Lord  Protector,  assisted 
with  a  council,  the  number  whereof  shall  not  exceed  twenty-one, 
nor  be  less  than  thirteen. 

III.  That  all  writs,  processes,  commissions,  patents,  grants,  and 
other  things,  which  now  run  in  the  name  and  style  of  the  Keepers 
of  the  liberty  of  England  by  authority  of  Parliament,  shall  run  in 
the  name  and  style  of  the  Lord  Protector,  from  whom,  for  the 
future,  shall  be  derived  all  magistracy  and  honours  in  these  three 
nations  ;  and  have  the  power  of  pardons  (except  in  case  of  mur- 


408  English  Constitutional  Documents 

ders  and  treason)  and  benefit  of  all  forfeitures  for  the  public  use  ; 
and  shall  govern  the  said  countries  and  dominions  in  all  things  by 
the  advice  of  the  council,  and  according  to  these  presents  and  the 
laws. 

IV.  That  the  Lord  Protector,  the  Parliament  sitting,  shall  dis- 
pose and  order  the  militia  and  forces,  both  by  sea  and  land,  for 
the  peace  and  good  of  the  three  nations,  by  consent  of  Parlia- 
ment ;  and  that  the  Lord  Protector,  with  the  advice  and  consent 
of  the  major  part  of  the  council,  shall  dispose  and  order  the  mili- 
tia for  the  ends  aforesaid  in  the  intervals  of  Parliament. 

V.  That   the    Lord    Protector,  by  the   advice   aforesaid,  shall 
direct  in  all  things  concerning  the  keeping  and  holding  of  a  good 
correspondency  with  foreign  kings,  princes,  and  states ;  and  also, 
with  the  consent  of  the  major  part  of  the  council,  have  the  power 
of  war  and  peace. 

VI.  That  the  laws  shall  not  be  altered,  suspended,  abrogated, 
or  repealed,  nor  any  new  law  made,  nor  any  tax,  charge,  or  impo- 
sition laid  upon  the  people,  but  by  common  consent  in  Parliament, 
save  only  as  is  expressed  in  the  thirtieth  article. 

VII.  That  there  shall  be  a  Parliament  summoned  to  meet  at 
Westminster  upon  the  third  day  of  September,  1654,  and  that  suc- 
cessively a  Parliament  shall  be  summoned  once  in  every  third  year, 
to  be  accounted  from  the  dissolution  of  the  present  Parliament. 

VIII.  That  neither  the  Parliament  to  be  next  summoned,  nor 
any  successive  Parliaments,  shall,  during  the  time  of  five  months, 
to  be  accounted  from  the  day  of  their  first  meeting,  be  adjourned, 
prorogued,  or  dissolved,  without  their  own  consent. 

IX.  That  as  well  the  next  as  all  other  successive  Parliaments, 
shall  be  summoned  and  elected  in  manner  hereafter  expressed ;  that 
is  to  say,  the  persons  to  be  chosen  within  England,  Wales,  the  isles 
of  Jersey  and  Guernsey,  and  the  town  of  Berwick-upon-Tweed,  to  sit 
and  serve  in  Parliament,  shall  be,  and  not  exceed,  the  number  of 
four  hundred.     The  persons  to  be  chosen  within  Scotland,  to  sit 
and  serve  in  Parliament,  shall  be,  and  not  exceed,  the  number  of 
thirty ;  and  the  persons  to  be  chosen  to  sit  in  Parliament  for  Ireland 
shall  be,  and  not  exceed,  the  number  of  thirty. 

X.  That  the  persons  to  be  elected  to  sit  in  Parliament  from  time 
to  time,  for  the  several  counties  of  England,  Wales,  the  isles  of 
Jersey  and  Guernsey,  and  the  town  of  Berwick-upon-Tweed,  and 
all  places  within  the  same  respectively,  shall  be  according  to  the 
proportions  and  numbers   hereafter  expressed :    that  is  to  say, 
[Schedule  of  constituencies.] 


The  Instrument  of  Government  409 

The  distribution  of  the  persons  to  be  chosen  for  Scotland  and 
Ireland,  and  the  several  counties,  cities,  and  places  therein,  shall 
be  according  to  such  proportions  and  number  as  shall  be  agreed 
upon  and  declared  by  the  Lord  Protector  and  the  major  part  of 
the  council,  before  the  sending  forth  writs  of  summons  for  the 
next  Parliament. 

XL  That  the  summons  to  Parliament  shall  be  by  writ  under 
the  Great  Seal  of  England,  directed  to  the  sheriffs  of  the  several 
and  respective  counties,  with  such  alteration  as  may  suit  with  the 
present  government,  to  be  made  by  the  Lord  Protector  and  his 
council,  which  the  Chancellor,  Keeper,  or  Commissioners  of  the 
Great  Seal  shall  seal,  issue,  and  send  abroad  by  warrant  from  the 
Ix)rd  Protector.  If  the  Lord  Protector  shall  not  give  warrant  for 
issuing  of  writs  of  summons  for  the  next  Parliament,  before  the 
first  of  June,  1654,  or  for  the  Triennial  Parliaments,  before  the  first 
day  of  August  in  every  third  year,  to  be  accounted  as  aforesaid  ; 
that  then  the  Chancellor,  Keeper,  or  Commissioners  of  the  Great 
Seal  for  the  time  being,  shall,  without  any  warrant  or  direction, 
within  seven  days  after  the  said  first  day  of  June,  1654,863!,  issue, 
and  send  abroad  writs  of  summons  (changing  therein  what  is  to  be 
changed  as  aforesaid)  to  the  several  and  respective  Sheriffs  of 
England,  Scotland,  and  Ireland,  for  summoning  the  Parliament 
to  meet  at  Westminster,  the  third  day  of  September  next;  and 
shall  likewise,  within  seven  days  after  the  said  first  day  of  August, 
in  every  third  year,  to  be  accounted  from  the  dissolution  of  the 
precedent  Parliament,  seal,  issue,  and  send  forth  abroad  several 
writs  of  summons  (changing  therein  what  is  to  be  changed)  as 
aforesaid,  for  summoning  the  Parliament  to  meet  at  Westmin- 
ster the  sixth  of  November  in  that  third  year.  That  the  said 
several  and  respective  Sheriffs  shall,  within  ten  days  after  the  re- 
ceipt of  such  writ  as  aforesaid,  cause  the  same  to  be  proclaimed 
and  published  in  every  market-town  within  his  county  upon  the 
market-days  thereof,  between  twelve  and  three  of  the  clock ;  and 
shall  then  also  publish  and  declare  the  certain  day  of  the  week 
and  month,  for  choosing  members  to  serve  in  Parliament  for  the 
body  of  the  said  county,  according  to  the  tenor  of  the  said  writ, 
which  shall  be  upon  Wednesday  five  weeks  after  the  date  of  the 
writ ;  and  shall  likewise  declare  the  place  where  the  election 
shall  be  made  :  for  which  purpose  he  shall  appoint  the  most  con- 
venient place  for  the  whole  county  to  meet  in ;  and  shall  send 
precepts  for  elections  to  be  made  in  all  and  every  city,  town, 
borough,  or  place  within  his  county,  where  elections  are  to  be 
made  by  virtue  of  these  presents,  to  the  Mayor,  Sheriff,  or  other 


4io  English  Constitutional  Documents 

head  officer  of  such  city,  town,  borough,  or  place,  within  three 
days  after  the  receipt  of  such  writ  and  writs;  which  the  said 
Mayors,  Sheriffs,  and  officers  respectively  are  to  make  publica- 
tion of,  and  of  the  certain  day  for  such  elections  to  be  made  in 
the  said  city,  town,  or  place  aforesaid,  and  to  cause  elections  to  be 
made  accordingly. 

XII.  That  at  the  day  and  place  of  elections,  the  Sheriff  of  each 
county,  and   the   said   Mayors,  Sheriffs,  Bailiffs,  and  other   head 
officers  within  their  cities,  towns,  boroughs,  and  places  respectively, 
shall  take  view  of  the  said  elections,  and  shall  make  return  into 
the  chancery  within  twenty  days  after  the  said  elections,  of  the 
persons   elected   by  the  greater  number  of  electors,  under  their 
hands  and  seals,  between  him  on  the  one  part,  and  the  electors  on 
the  other  part ;  wherein  shall  be  contained,  that  the  persons  elected 
shall  not  have  power  to  alter  the  government  as  it  is  hereby  settled 
in  one  single  person  and  a  Parliament. 

XIII.  That  the  Sheriff,  who  shall  wittingly  and  willingly  make 
any  false  return,  or  neglect  his  duty,  shall  incur  the  penalty  of 
2000  marks  of  lawful  English  money ;  the  one  moiety  to  the  Lord 
Protector,  and  the  other  moiety  to  such  person  as  will  sue  for  the 
same. 

XIV.  That  all  and  every  person  and  persons,  who  have  aided, 
advised,  assisted,  or  abetted  in  any  war  against  the  Parliament, 
since  the  first  day  of  January,  1641  (unless  they  have  been  since 
in  the  service  of  the  Parliament,  and  given  signal  testimony  of 
their  good  affection  thereunto)  shall  be  disabled  and  incapable  to 
be  elected,  or  to  give  any  vote  in  the  election  of  any  members  to 
serve  in  the  next  Parliament,  or  in  the  three  succeeding  Triennial 
Parliaments. 

XV.  That  all  such,  who  have  advised,  assisted,  or  abetted  the 
rebellion  of  Ireland,  shall  be  disabled  and  incapable  for  ever  to  be 
elected,  or  give  any  vote  in  the  election  of  any  member  to  serve 
in  Parliament ;  as  also  all  such  who  do  or  shall  profess  the  Roman 
Catholic  religion. 

XVI.  That  all  votes  and  elections  given  or  made  contrary,  or 
not  according  to  these  qualifications,  shall  be  null  and  void ;  and 
if  any  person,  who  is  hereby  made  incapable,  shall  give  his  vote 
for  election  of  members  to  serve  in  Parliament,  such  person  shall 
lose  and  forfeit  one  full  year's  value  of  his  real  estate,  and  one  full 
third  part  of  his  personal  estate ;  one  moiety  thereof  to  the  Lord 
Protector,  and  the  other  moiety  to  him  or  them  who  shall  sue  for 
the  same. 

XVII.  That  the  persons  who  shall  be  elected  to  serve  in  Parlia- 


The  Instrument  of  Government  411 

ment,  shall  be  such  (and  no  other  than  such)  as  are  persons  of 
known  integrity,  fearing  God,  and  of  good  conversation,  and  being 
of  the  age  of  twenty-one  years. 

XVIII.  That  all  and  every  person  and  persons  seised  or  pos- 
sessed to  his  own  use,  of  any  estate,  real  or  personal,  to  the  value  of 
^200,  and  not  within  the  aforesaid  exceptions,  shall  be  capable 
to  elect  members  to  serve  in  Parliament  for  counties. 

XIX.  That  the  Chancellor,  Keeper,  or  Commissioners  of  the 
Great  Seal,  shall  be  sworn  before  they  enter  into  their  offices,  truly 
and  faithfully  to  issue  forth,  and  send  abroad,  writs  of  summons  to 
Parliament,  at  the  times  and  in  the  manner  before  expressed  :  and 
in  case  of  neglect  or  failure  to  issue  and  send  abroad  writs  accord- 
ingly, he  or  they  shall  for  every  such  offence  be  guilty  of  high 
treason,  and  suffer  the  pains  and  penalties  thereof. 

XX.  That  in  case  writs  be  not  issued  out,  as  is  before  expressed, 
but  that  there  be  a  neglect  therein,  fifteen  days  after  the  time 
wherein  the  same  ought  to  be   issued   out  by  the   Chancellor, 
Keeper,   or   Commissioners  of  the   Great   Seal ;    that   then   the 
Parliament  shall,  as  often  as  such  failure  shall  happen,  assemble 
and  be  held  at  Westminster,  in  the  usual  place,  at  the  times  pre- 
fixed, in  manner  and  by  the  means  hereafter  expressed  ;  that  is  to 
say,  that  the  sheriffs  of  the  several  and  respective  counties,  sheriff- 
doms,  cities,  boroughs,  and  places  aforesaid,  within  England,  Wales, 
Scotland,  and  Ireland,  the  Chancellor,  Masters,  and  Scholars  of  the 
Universities  of  Oxford  and  Cambridge,  and  the  Mayor  and  Bailiffs 
of  the  borough  of  Berwick-upon-Tweed,  and  other  places  aforesaid 
respectively,  shall  at  the  several  courts  and  places  to  be  appointed 
as  aforesaid,  within  thirty  days  after  the  said  fifteen  days,  cause 
such  members  to  be  chosen  for  their  said  several  and  respective 
counties,  sheriffdoms,   universities,   cities,   boroughs,   and   places 
aforesaid,  by  such  persons,  and  in  such  manner,  as  if  several  and 
respective  writs  of  summons  to  Parliament  under  the  Great  Seal 
had  issued  and  been  awarded  according  to  the  tenor  aforesaid : 
that  if  the  sheriff,  or  other  persons  authorised,  shall  neglect  his  or 
their  duty  herein,  that  all  and  every  such  sheriff  and  person  author- 
ised as  aforesaid,  so  neglecting  his  or  their  duty,  shall,  for  every 
such  offence,  be  guilty  of  high  treason,  and  shall  suffer  the  pains 
and  penalties  thereof. 

.XXI.  That  the  clerk,  called  the  clerk  of  the  Commonwealth  in 
Chancery  for  the  time  being,  and  all  others,  who  shall  afterwards 
execute  that  office,  to  whom  the  returns  shall  be  made,  shall  for 
the  next  Parliament,  and  the  two  succeeding  triennial  Parliaments, 
the  next  day  after  such  return,  certify  the  names  of  the  several  per- 


412  English  Constitutional  Documents 

sons  so  returned,  and  of  the  places  for  which  he  and  they  were 
chosen  respectively,  unto  the  Council ;  who  shall  peruse  the  said 
returns,  and  examine  whether  the  persons  so  elected  and  returned 
be  such  as  is  agreeable  to  the  qualifications,  and  not  disabled  to  be 
elected  :  and  that  every  person  and  persons  being  so  duly  elected, 
and  being  approved  of  by  the  major  part  of  the  Council  to  be  per- 
sons not  disabled,  but  qualified  as  aforesaid,  shall  be  esteemed  a 
member  of  Parliament,  and  be  admitted  to  sit  in  Parliament,  and 
not  otherwise. 

XXII.  That  the  persons  so  chosen  and  assembled  in  manner 
aforesaid,  or  any  sixty  of  them,  shall   be,  and   be  deemed  the 
Parliament  of  England,  Scotland,  and  Ireland ;  and  the  supreme 
legislative  power  to  be  and  reside  in  the  Lord  Protector  and  such 
Parliament,  in  manner  herein  expressed. 

XXIII.  That  the  Lord  Protector,  with  the  advice  of  the  major 
part  of  the  Council,  shall  at  any  other  time  than  is  before  expressed, 
when  the  necessities  of  the  State  shall  require  it,  summon  Parlia- 
ments in  manner  before  expressed,  which  shall  not  be  adjourned, 
prorogued,  or  dissolved  without  their  own  consent,  during  the  first 
three  months  of  their  sitting.     And  in  case  of  future  war  with  any 
foreign  State,  a  Parliament  shall  be  forthwith  summoned  for  their 
advice  concerning  the  same. 

XXIV.  That  all  Bills  agreed  unto  by  the  Parliament,  shall  be 
presented  to  the  Lord  Protector  for  his  consent ;  and  in  case  he 
shall  not  give  his  consent  thereto  within  twenty  days  after  they 
shall  be  presented  to  him,  or  give  satisfaction  to  the  Parliament 
within  the  time  limited,  that  then,  upon  declaration  of  the  Parlia- 
ment that  the  Lord  Protector  hath  not  consented  nor  given  satis- 
faction, such  Bills  shall  pass  into  and  become  laws,  although  he 
shall  not  give  his  consent  thereunto ;  provided  such  Bills  contain 
nothing  in  them  contrary  to  the  matters  contained  in  these  presents. 

XXV.  That  Henry  Lawrence,  [  *  *  *  15  names  in  all]  or  any 
seven  of  them,  shall  be  a  Council  for  the  purposes  expressed  in  this 
writing  ;  and  upon  the  death  or  other  removal  of  any  of  them,  the 
Parliament  shall  nominate  six  persons  of  ability,  integrity,  and  fear- 
ing God,  for  every  one  that  is  dead  or  removed  ;  out  of  which  the 
major  part  of  the  Council  shall  elect  two,  and  present  them  to  the 
Lord  Protector,  of  which  he  shall  elect  one ;  and  in  case  the  Par- 
liament shall  not  nominate  within  twenty  days  after  notice  given 
unto  them  thereof,  the  major  part  of  the  Council  shall  nominate 
three'  as  aforesaid  to  the  Lord  Protector,  who  out  of  them  shall 
supply  the  vacancy ;  and  until  this  choice  be  made,  the  remaining 
part  of  the  Council  shall  execute  as  fully  in  all  things,  as  if  their 


The  Instrument  of  Government  413 

number  were  full.  And  in  case  of  corruption,  or  other  miscarriage 
in  any  of  the  Council  in  their  trust,  the  Parliament  shall  appoint 
seven  of  their  number,  and  the  Council  six,  who,  together  with  the 
Lord  Chancellor,  Lord  Keeper,  or  Commissioners  of  the  Great  Seal 
for  the  time  being,  shall  have  power  to  hear  and  determine  such 
corruption  and  miscarriage,  and  to  award  and  inflict  punishment, 
as  the  nature  of  the  offence  shall  deserve,  which  punishment  shall 
not  be  pardoned  or  remitted  by  the  Lord  Protector ;  and,  in  the 
interval  of  Parliament  the  major  part  of  the  Council,  with  the 
consent  of  the  Lord  Protector,  may,  for  corruption  or  other 
miscarriage  as  aforesaid,  suspend  any  of  their  number  from  the 
exercise  of  their  trust,  if  they  shall  find  it  just,  until  the  matter 
shall  be  heard  and  examined  as  aforesaid. 

XXVI.  That  the  Lord  Protector  and  the  major  part  of  the 
Council  aforesaid  may,  at  any  time  before  the  meeting  of  the 
next  Parliament,  add  to  the  Council  such  persons  as  they  shall 
think  fit,  provided  the  number  of  the  Council  be  not  made  thereby 
to  exceed  twenty-one,  and  the  quorum  to  be  proportioned  accord- 
ingly by  the  Lord  Protector  and  the  major  part  of  the  Council. 

XXVII.  That  a  constant  yearly  revenue  shall  be  raised,  settled, 
and  established  for  maintaining  of  10,000  horse  and  dragoons,  and 
20,000  foot,  in  England,  Scotland  and  Ireland,  for  the  defence 
and  security  thereof,  and  also  for  a  convenient  number  of  ships  for 
guarding  of  the   seas ;  besides  ^£200,000  per  annum  for  defray- 
ing the  other  necessary  charges  of  administration  of  justice,  and 
other  expenses  of  the  Government,  which  revenue  shall  be  raised 
by  the  customs,  and  such  other  ways  and  means  as  shall  be  agreed 
upon  by  the  Lord  Protector  and  the  Council,  and  shall  not  be 
taken  away  or  diminished,  nor  the  way  agreed  upon  for  raising  the 
same  altered,  but  by  the  consent  of  the  Lord  Protector  and  the 
Parliament. 

XXVIII.  That  the  said  yearly  revenue  shall  be  paid  into  the 
public  treasury,  and  shall  be  issued  out  for  the  uses  aforesaid. 

XXIX.  That  in  case  there  shall  not  be  cause  hereafter  to  keep 
up  so  great  a  defence  both  at  land  or  sea,  but  that  there  be  an 
abatement  made  thereof,  the  money  which  will  be  saved  thereby 
shall  remain  in  bank  for  the  public  service,  and  not  be  employed 
to  any  other  use  but  by  consent  of  Parliament,  or,  in  the  inter- 
vals of  Parliament,  by  the  Lord  Protector  and  major  part  of  the 
Council. 

XXX.  That  the  raising  of  money  for  defraying  the  charge  of 
the  present  extraordinary  forces,  both  at  sea  and  land,  in  respect 
of  the  present  wars,  shall  be  by  consent  of  Parliament,  and  not 


414          English  Constitutional  Documents 

otherwise  :  save  only  that  the  Lord  Protector,  with  the  consent  of 
the  major  part  of  the  Council,  for  preventing  the  disorders  and 
dangers  which  might  otherwise  fall  out  both  by  sea  and  land,  shall 
have  power,  until  the  meeting  of  the  first  Parliament,  to  raise 
money  for  the  purposes  aforesaid ;  and  also  to  make  laws  and 
ordinances  for  the  peace  and  welfare  of  these  nations  where  it 
shall  be  necessary,  which  shall  be  binding  and  in  force,  until  order 
shall  be  taken  in  Parliament  concerning  the  same. 

XXXI.  That  the  lands,  tenements,  rents,  royalties,  jurisdictions 
and  hereditaments  which  remain  yet  unsold  or  undisposed  of,  by 
Act  or  Ordinance  of  Parliament,  belonging  to  the  Commonwealth 
(except  the  forests  and  chases,  and  the  honours  and  manors  be- 
longing to  the  same ;  the  lands  of  the  rebels  in  Ireland,  lying  in 
the  four  counties  of  Dublin,  Cork,  Kildare,  and  Carlow ;  the  lands 
forfeited  by  the  people  of  Scotland  in  the  late  wars,  and  also  the 
lands  of  Papists  and  delinquents  in   England  who  have  not  yet 
compounded),  shall  be  vested  in  the  Lord  Protector,  to  hold,  to 
him  and  his  successors,  Lords  Protectors  of  these  nations,  and 
shall  not  be  alienated  but  by  consent  in  Parliament.      And  all 
debts,  fines,  issues,  amercements,  penalties  and  profits,  certain  and 
casual,  due  to  the  Keepers  of  the  liberties  of  England  by  authority 
of  Parliament,  shall  be  due  to  the  Lord  Protector,  and  be  payable 
into  his  public  receipt,  and  shall  be  recovered  and  prosecuted  in 
his  name. 

XXXII.  That  the  office  of  Lord  Protector  over  these  nations 
shall  be  elective  and  not  hereditary ;  and  upon  the  death  of  the 
Lord  Protector,  another  fit  person  shall  be  forthwith  elected  to 
succeed  him  in  the  Government ;  which  election  shall  be  by  the 
Council,  who,  immediately  upon  the  death  of  the  Lord  Protector, 
shall  assemble  in  the  Chamber  where  they  usually  sit  in  Council ; 
and,  having  given  notice  to  all  their  members  of  the  cause  of 
their  assembling,  shall,  being  thirteen  at  least  present,  proceed  to 
the  election;  and,  before  they  depart  the  said  Chamber,  shall  elect 
a  fit  person  to  succeed  in  the  Government,  and  forthwith  cause 
proclamation    thereof  to   be   made  in   all  the   three   nations   as 
shall  be  requisite ;  and  the  person  that  they,  or  the  major  part 
of  them,  shall  elect  as  aforesaid,  shall  be,  and  shall  be  taken  to 
be,  Lord  Protector  over  these  nations  of  England,  Scotland  and 
Ireland,  and  the  dominions   thereto  belonging.      Provided   that 
none  of  the  children  of  the   late  King,  nor  any  of  his  line   or 
family,  be  elected  to  be  Lord  Protector  or  other  Chief  Magistrate 
over  these  nations,  or  any  the  dominions  thereto  belonging.     And 
until  the  aforesaid  election  be  past,  the  Council  shall  take  care 


The  Instrument  of  Government  415 

of  the  Government,  and  administer  in  all  things  as  fully  as  the 
Lord  Protector,  or  the  Lord  Protector  and  Council  are  enabled 
to  do. 

XXXIII.  That  Oliver  Cromwell,  Captain-General  of  the  forces 
of  England,  Scotland  and  Ireland,  shall  be,  and  is  hereby  declared 
to  be,  Lord  Protector  of  the  Commonwealth  of  England,  Scotland 
and  Ireland,  and  the  dominions  thereto  belonging,  for  his  life. 

XXXIV.  That  the  Chancellor,  Keeper  or  Commissioners  of  the 
Great  Seal,  the  Treasurer,  Admiral,  Chief  Governors  of  Ireland 
and  Scotland,  and  the  Chief  Justices  of  both  the  Benches,  shall 
be  chosen  by  the  approbation  of  Parliament ;  and,  in  the  intervals 
of  Parliament,  by  the  approbation  of  the  major  part  of  the  Coun- 
cil, to  be  afterwards  approved  by  the  Parliament. 

XXXV.  That  the  Christian  religion,  as  contained  in  the  Scrip- 
tures, be  held  forth  and  recommended  as  the  public  profession 
of  these  nations ;  and  that,  as  soon  as  may  be,  a  provision,  less 
subject  to  scruple  and  contention,  and  more  certain  than  the  pres- 
ent, be  made  for  the  encouragement  and  maintenance  of  able  and 
painful  teachers,  for  the  instructing  the  people,  and  for  discovery 
and  confutation   of  error,  heresy,  and  whatever  is   contrary  to 
sound  doctrine ;  and  until  such  provision  be  made,  the  present 
maintenance  shall  not  be  taken  away  or  impeached. 

XXXVI.  That  to  the  public  profession  held  forth  none  shall  be 
compelled  by  penalties  or  otherwise ;  but  that  endeavours  be  used 
to  win  them  by  sound  doctrine  and  the  example  of  a  good  con- 
versation. 

XXXVII.  That  such  as  profess  faith  in  God  by  Jesus   Christ 
(though  differing  in  judgment  from  the  doctrine,  worship  or  disci- 
pline publicly  held  forth)  shall  not  be  restrained  from,  but  shall 
be  protected  in,  the  profession  of  the  faith  and  exercise  of  their 
religion ;  so  as  they  abuse  not  this  liberty  to  the  civil  injury  of 
others  and  to  the  actual  disturbance  of  the  public  peace  on  their 
parts  :  provided  this  liberty  be  not  extended  to  Popery  or  Prelacy, 
nor  to  such  as,  under  the  profession  of  Christ,  hold  forth  and  prac- 
tise licentiousness. 

XXXVIII.  That  all  laws,  statutes  and  ordinances,  and  clauses 
in  any  law,  statute  or  ordinance  to  the  contrary  of  the  aforesaid 
liberty,  shall  be  esteemed  as  null  and  void. 

XXXIX.  That  the  Acts  and  Ordinances  of  Parliament  made 
for  the  sale  or  other  disposition  of  the  lands,  rents  and  heredita- 
ments of  the  late  King,  Queen,  and  Prince,  of  Archbishops  and 
Bishops,  &c.,  Deans  and  Chapters,  the  lands  of  delinquents  and 
forest-lands,  or  any  of  them,  or  of  any  other  lands,  tenements, 


4i 6  English  Constitutional   Documents 

rents  and  hereditaments  belonging  to  the  Commonwealth,  shalV 
nowise  be  impeached  or  made  invalid,  but  shall  remain  good  and 
firm ;  and  that  the  securities  given  by  Act  and  Ordinance  of  Par- 
liament for  any  sum  or  sums  of  money,  by  any  of  the  said  lands, 
the  excise,  or  any  other  public  revenue  ;  and  also  the  securities 
given  by  the  public  faith  of  the  nation,  and  the  engagement  of  the 
public  faith  for  satisfaction  of  debts  and  damages,  shall  remain 
firm  and  good,  and  not  be  made  void  and  invalid  upon  any  pre- 
tence whatsoever. 

XL.  That  the  Articles  given  to  or  made  with  the  enemy,  and 
afterwards  confirmed  by  Parliament,  shall  be  performed  and  made 
good  to  the  persons  concerned  therein ;  and  that  such  appeals  as 
were  depending  in  the  last  Parliament  for  relief  concerning  bills 
of  sale  of  delinquents'  estates,  may  be  heard  and  determined  the 
next  Parliament,  anything  in  this  writing  or  otherwise  to  the  con- 
trary notwithstanding. 

XLI.  That  every  successive  Lord  Protector  over  these  nations 
shall  take  and  subscribe  a  solemn  oath,  in  the  presence  of  the 
Council,  and  such  others  as  they  shall  call  to  them,  that  he  will 
seek  the  peace,  quiet  and  welfare  of  these  nations,  cause  law  and 
justice  to  be  equally  administered  ;  and  that  he  will  not  violate  or 
infringe  the  matters  and  things  contained  in  this  writing,  and  in 
all  other  things  will,  to  his  power  and  to  the  best  of  his  understand- 
ing, govern  these  nations  according  to  the  laws,  statutes  and  cus- 
toms thereof. 

XLII.  That  each  person  of  the  Council  shall,  before  they  enter 
upon  their  trust,  take  and  subscribe  an  oath,  that  they  will  be 
true  and  faithful  in  their  trust,  according  to  the  best  of  their 
knowledge ;  and  that  in  the  election  of  every  successive  Lord 
Protector  they  shall  proceed  therein  impartially,  and  do  nothing 
therein  for  any  promise,  fear,  favour  or  reward. 


220.    An  Ordinance  by  the  Protector  for  the 
Union  of  England  and  Scotland 

(1654,  April  12.     Scobell,  ii.  293.     Gardiner,  418-422.) 

HIS  Highness  the  Lord  Protector  of  the  Commonwealth  of 
England,  Scotland  and  Ireland,  &c.,  taking  into  considera- 
tion how  much  it  might  conduce  to  the  glory  of  God  and  the 
peace  and  welfare  of  the  people  in  this  whole  island,  that  after  all 


Ordinance  for  Union  of  England  and  Scotland     417 

those  late  unhappy  wars  and  differences,  the  people  of  Scotland 
should  be  united  with  the  people  of  England  into  one  Common- 
wealth and  under  one  Government,  and  finding  that  in  December, 
1651,  the  Parliament  then  sitting  did  send  Commissioners  into 
Scotland  to  invite  the  people  of  that  nation  unto  such  a  happy 
Union,  who  proceeded  so  far  therein  that  the  shires  and  boroughs 
of  Scotland,  by  their  Deputies  convened  at  Dalkeith,  and  again  at 
Edinburgh,  did  accept  of  the  said  Union,  and  assent  thereunto ; 
for  the  completing  and  perfecting  of  which  Union,  be  it  ordained, 
and  it  is  ordained,  by  his  Highness  the  Lord  Protector  of  the 
Commonwealth  of  England,  Scotland  and  Ireland,  and  the  domin- 
ions thereto  belonging,  by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  his 
Council,  that  all  the  people  of  Scotland,  and  of  the  isles  of  Orkney 
and  Shetland,  and  of  all  the  dominions  and  territories  belonging 
unto  Scotland,  are  and  shall  be,  and  are  hereby,  incorporated  into, 
constituted,  established,  declared  and  confirmed  one  Common- 
wealth with  England  ;  and  in  every  Parliament  to  be  held  suc- 
cessively for  the  said  Commonwealth,  thirty  persons  shall  be  called 
from  and  serve  for  Scotland. 

And  for  the  more  effectual  preservation  of  this  Union,  and  the 
freedom  and  safety  of  the  people  of  this  Commonwealth  so  united, 
be  it  ordained,  and  it  is  ordained  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  that 
all  the  people  of  Scotland  and  of  the  isles  of  Orkney  and  Shet- 
land, and  of  all  the  dominions  and  territories  belonging  unto  Scot- 
land, of  what  degree  or  condition  soever,  be  discharged  of  all 
fealty,  homage,  service  and  allegiance,  which  is  or  shall  be  pre- 
tended due  unto  any  of  the  issue  and  posterity  of  Charles  Stuart, 
late  King  of  England  and  Scotland,  or  any  claiming  under  him ; 
and  that  Charles  Stuart,  eldest  son,  and  James,  called  Duke 
of  York,  second  son,  and  all  other  the  issue  and  posterity  of  the 
said  late  King,  and  all  and  every  person  and  persons  pretending 
title  from,  by  or  under  him,  are  and  be  disabled  to  hold  or  enjoy 
the  Crown  of  Scotland  and  other  the  dominions  thereunto  belong- 
ing, or  any  of  them ;  or  to  have  the  name,  title,  style  or  dignity 
of  King  or  Queen  of  Scotland ;  or  to  have  and  enjoy  the  power 
and  dominion  of  the  said  kingdom  and  dominions,  or  any  of  them, 
or  the  honours,  manors,  lands,  tenements,  possessions  and  heredita- 
ments belonging  or  appertaining  to  the  said  Crown  of  Scotland, 
or  other  the  dominions  aforesaid,  or  to  any  of  theni,  any  law, 
statute,  usage,  ordinance  or  custom  in  Scotland  to  the  contrary 
hereof  in  any  wise  notwithstanding. 

And  it  is  further  ordained  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  that  the 
said  office,  style,  dignity,  power  and  authority  of  King  of  Scotland, 


41 8  English  Constitutional  Documents 

and  all  right  of  the  three  Estates  of  Scotland  to  convocate  or  assem- 
ble in  any  general  Convocation  or  Parliament,  and  all  conventional 
and  parliamentary  authority  in  Scotland,  as  formerly  established, 
and  all  laws,  usages  and  customs,  ordaining,  constituting  or  con- 
firming the  same,  shall  be  and  are  hereby  and  from  henceforth 
abolished  and  utterly  taken  away  and  made  null  and  void. 

And  that  this  Union  may  take  its  more  full  effect  and  intent,  be 
it  further  ordained  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  that  the  Arms  of 
Scotland,  viz.  a  cross,  commonly  called  St.  Andrew's  Cross,  be 
received  into  and  borne  from  henceforth  in  the  Arms  of  this 
Commonwealth,  as  a  badge  of  this  Union ;  and  that  all  the  public 
seals,  seals  of  office,  and  seals  of  bodies  civil  or  corporate,  in  Scot- 
land, which  heretofore  carried  the  Arms  of  the  Kings  of  Scot- 
land, shall  from  henceforth  instead  thereof  carry  the  Arms  of  this 
Commonwealth. 

And  be  it  further  ordained  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  that  all 
customs,  excise  and  other  imposts  for  goods  transported  from  Eng- 
land to  Scotland,  and  from  Scotland  to  England,  by  sea  or  land, 
are  and  shall  be  so  far  taken  off  and  discharged,  as  that  all  goods 
for  the  future  shall  pass  as  free,  and  with  like  privileges  and  with 
the  like  charges  and  burdens  from  England  to  Scotland,  and  from 
Scotland  to  England,  as  goods  passing  from  port  to  port,  or  place 
to  place  in  England ;  and  that  all  goods  shall  and  may  pass  be- 
tween Scotland  and  any  other  part  of  this  Commonwealth  or 
dominions  thereof,  with  the  like  privileges,  freedom,  charges  and 
burdens  as  such  goods  do  or  shall  pass  between  England  and  the 
said  parts  and  dominions  thereof,  any  law,  statute,  usage  or  cus- 
tom to  the  contrary  thereof  in  any  wise  notwithstanding,  and  that 
•  all  goods  prohibited  by  any  law  now  in  force  in  England  to  be 
transported  out  of  England  to  any  foreign  parts,  or  imported, 
shall  be  and  hereby  are  prohibited  to  be  transported  or  imported 
by  the  same  law,  and  upon  the  same  penalties,  out  of  Scotland  to 
any  foreign  parts  aforesaid,  or  from  any  foreign  parts  into  Scotland. 

And  be  it  further  ordained  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  that  all 
cesses,  public  impositions  and  taxations  whatsoever,  be  imposed, 
taxed  and  levied  from  henceforth  proportionably  from  the  whole 
people  of  this  Commonwealth  so  united. 

And  further,  to  the  end  that  all  dominion  of  tenures  and  supe- 
riorities importing  servitude  and  vassalage  may  likewise  be  abol- 
ished in  Scotland,  be  it  further  declared  and  ordained  by  the 
authority  aforesaid,  that  all  heritors,  proprietors  and  possessors  of 
lands  in  Scotland,  or  the  dominions  thereunto  belonging,  and 
their  heirs,  shall  from  and  after  the  I2th  day  of  April,  in  the  year 


Ordinance  for  Union  of  England  and  Scotland     419 

of  our  Lord  1654,  hold  their  respective  lands  of  the  respective 
lord  and  lords  by  deed,  charter,  patent  or  enfeoffment,  to  be 
renewed  upon  the  death  of  every  heritor,  proprietor  or  possessor 
(as  now  they  do)  to  his  heir  or  heirs,  by  and  under  such  yearly 
rents,  boons  and  annual  services  as  are  mentioned  or  due  by  any 
deeds,  patents,  charters  or  enfeoffments  now  in  being,  of  the 
respective  lands  therein  expressed,  or  by  virtue  thereof  enjoyed 
without  rendering,  doing  or  performing  any  other  duty,  service, 
vassalage  or  demand  whatsoever,  by  reason  or  occasion  of  the  said 
lands,  or  any  the  clauses  or  covenants  in  the  said  deeds,  charters, 
patents  or  enfeoffments  contained,  saving  what  is  hereafter,  herein 
and  hereby  particularly  expressed  and  declared ;  that  is  to  say, 
heriots,  where  the  same  are  due,  fines  (certain  where  the  same  is 
already  certain,  and  where  the  fine  is  uncertain,  reasonable  fines) 
upon  the  death  of  the  lord,  and  upon  the  death  or  alienation  of 
the  tenant,  or  any  of  them,  where  the  same  have  usually  been 
paid,  which  said  fine  (not  being  already  certain)  shall  not  at  any 
time  exceed  one  year's  value  of  the  lands,  and  also  doing  suit  and 
service  to  such  Court  and  Courts  Baron,  as  shall  be  constituted  in 
Scotland,  in  such  manner  as  is  ordained  by  one  other  Ordinance, 
entitled,  an  Ordinance  for  erecting  Courts  Baron  in  Scotland. 

And  be  it  ordained  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  that  all  and  every 
the  heritors,  proprietors  and  possessors  aforesaid,  and  their  heirs, 
are  and  shall  be  from  henceforth  for  ever  discharged  of  all  fealty, 
homage,  vassalage  and  servitude,  which  is  or  shall  be  pretended 
due  from  them,  or  any  of  them,  unto  any  their  lords  or  superiors 
whatsoever,  claiming  dominion  or  jurisdiction  over  them,  by  virtue 
of  the  said  patents,  charters,  deeds  or  enfeoffments,  and  other 
rights  thereof,  or  of  any  clauses  or  conditions  therein  contained, 
other  than  is  before  declared  and  ordained.  And  that  all  the  said 
superiorities,  lordships  and  jurisdictions  (other  than  as  aforesaid) 
shall  be,  and  are  hereby  abolished,  taken  off  and  discharged ;  and 
that  all  and  every  the  said  deeds,  patents,  charters  and  enfeoff- 
ments in  that  behalf  be,  and  are  hereby  declared,  and  made  so  far 
void  and  null;  and  particularly,  that  all  and  every  the  heritors, 
and  others  the  persons  aforesaid,  and  their  heirs,  are  and  shall  be 
for  ever  hereafter  freed  and  discharged  of,  and  from,  all  suits,  and 
appearing  at  or  in  any  their  lords,  or  superiors  courts  of  justiciary, 
regality,  stewartry,  barony,  bailiary,  heritable  sheriffship,  heritable 
admiralty,  all  which,  together  with  all  other  offices  heritable,  or 
for  life,  are  hereby  abolished  and  taken  away ;  and  that  all  and 
every  the  heritors  and  persons  aforesaid,  and  their  heirs,  are  and 
shall  be  for  ever  hereafter  freed  and  discharged  of  and  from  all 


420  English  Constitutional  Documents 

military  service,  and  personal  attendance  upon  any  their  lords  or 
superiors  in  expeditions  or  travels,  and  of  all  casualties  of  wards' 
lands  formerly  held  of  the  King,  or  other  superiors,  and  of  the 
marriage,  single  and  double  avail  thereof,  non-entries,  composi- 
tions for  entries,  and  of  all  rights  and  casualties  payable,  if  they  be 
demanded,  only  or  upon  the  committing  of  any  clauses  irritant. 
And  that  the  said  heritors  and  persons  aforesaid  be  now,  and  from 
henceforth,  construed,  reputed,  adjudged  and  declared  free  and 
acquitted  thereof,  and  of  and  from  all  and  all  manner  of  holding 
suits,  duties,  services,  personal  or  real,  and  demands  whatsoever 
(other  than  is  before  declared  and  ordained),  notwithstanding  the 
present  tenor  of  any  their  deeds,  patents,  enfeoffments,  or  any 
clauses,  articles  or  covenants  therein  contained  or  mentioned  to 
the  contrary  in  any  wise ;  and  that  in  time  to  come  all  and  every 
clause,  covenant,  article,  condition,  or  thing  to  the  contrary  hereof, 
shall  be  omitted  out  of  all  such  deeds,  patents,  charters  and  en- 
feoffments. 

And  be  it  further  ordained,  that  all  forfeitures,  escheats,  simple 
or  of  life,  rent  bastardy,  and  last  heir,  which  heretofore  escheated, 
forfeited  and  fell  to  the  King,  lords  of  regality,  or  other  superiors, 
shall  from  henceforth  fall,  escheat,  and  forfeit  to  the  Lord  Pro- 
tector of  the  Commonwealth  for  the  time  being. 

Passed  i2th  April,  1654.     Confirmed  Anno  1656,  Cap.  10. 


221.    The  Declaration  of  Breda 

(1660,  April  4.    Cobbett's  Parliamentary  History,  iv.  16.     Gardiner.  465-467. 
G.  and  H.  585-588.) 

/CHARLES  R. 

>-*  Charles,  by  the  grace  of  "God,  King  of  England,  Scotland, 
France  and  Ireland,  Defender  of  the  Faith,  &c.  To  all  our  lov- 
ing subjects,  of  what  degree  or  quality  soever,  greeting. 

If  the  general  distraction  and  confusion  which  is  spread  over  the 
whole  kingdom,  doth  not  awaken  all  men  to  a  desire  and  longing 
that  those  wounds,  which  have  so  many  years  together  been  kept 
bleeding,  may  be  bound  up,  all  we  can  say  will  be  to  no  purpose ; 
however,  after  this  long  silence,  we  have  thought  it  our  duty  to 
declare  how  much  we  desire  to  contribute  thereunto ;  and  that  as 
we  can  never  give  over  the  hope,  in  good  time,  to  obtain  the  pos- 
session of  that  right  which  God  and  nature  hath  made  our  due,  so 
we  do  make  it  our  daily  suit  to  the  Divine  Providence,  that  He  will, 


The  Declaration  of  Breda  421 

in  compassion  to  us  and  our  subjects,  after  so  long  misery  and  suf- 
ferings, remit  and  put  us  into  a  quiet  and  peaceable  possession  of 
that  our  right,  with  as  little  blood  and  damage  to  our  people  as  is 
possible  ;  nor  do  we  desire  more  to  enjoy  what  is  ours,  than  that 
all  our  subjects  may  enjoy  what  by  law  is  theirs,  by  a  full  and  entire 
administration  of  justice  throughout  the  land,  and  by  extending 
our  mercy  where  it  is  wanted  and  deserved. 

And  to  the  end  that  the  fear  of  punishment  may  not  engage  any, 
conscious  to  themselves  of  what  is  past,  to  a  perseverance  in  guilt 
for  the  future,  by  opposing  the  quiet  and  happiness  of  their  coun- 
try, in  the  restoration  of  king,  peers  and  people  to  their  just, 
ancient  and  fundamental  rights,  we  do,  by  these  presents,  declare, 
that  we  do  grant  a  free  and  general  pardon,  which  we  are  ready, 
upon  demand,  to  pass  under  our  Great  Seal  of  England,  to  all  our 
subjects,  of  what  degree  or  quality  soever,  who,  within  forty  days 
after  the  publishing  hereof,  shall  lay  hold  upon  this  our  grace  and 
favour,  and  shall,  by  any  public  act,  declare  their  doing  so,  and 
that  they  return  to  the  loyalty  and  obedience  of  good  subjects ; 
excepting  only  such  persons  as  shall  hereafter  be  excepted  by 
Parliament,  those  only  to  be  excepted.  Let  all  our  subjects,  how 
faulty  soever,  rely  upon  the  word  of  a  King,  solemnly  given  by  this 
present  declaration,  that  no  crime  whatsoever,  committed  against 
us  or  our  royal  father  before  the  publication  of  this,  shall  ever  rise 
in  judgment,  or  be  brought  in  question,  against  any  of  them,  to  the 
least  endamagement  of  them,  either  in  their  lives,  liberties  or 
estates,  or  (as  far  forth  as  lies  in  our  power)  so  much  as  to  the 
prejudice  of  their  reputations  by  any  reproach  or  term  of  distinc- 
tion from  the  rest  of  our  best  subjects ;  we  desiring  and  ordaining 
that  henceforth  all  notes  of  discord,  separation  and  difference  of 
parties  be  utterly  abolished  among  all  our  subjects,  whom  we  invite 
and  conjure  to  a  perfect  union  among  themselves,  under  our  pro- 
tection, for  the  re-settlement  of  our  just  rights  and  theirs  in  a 
free  Parliament,  by  which,  upon  the  word  of  a  King,  we  will  be 
advised. 

And  because  the  passion  and  uncharitableness  of  the  times 
have  produced  several  opinions  in  religion,  by  which  men  are 
engaged  in  parties  and  animosities  against  each  other  (which, 
when  they  shall  hereafter  unite  in  a  freedom  of  conversation,  will 
be  composed  or  better  understood),  we  do  declare  a  liberty  to 
tender  consciences,  and  that  no  man  shall  be  disquieted  or  called 
in  question  for  differences  of  opinion  in  matter  of  religion,  which 
do  not  disturb  the  peace  of  the  kingdom ;  and  that  we  shall  be 
ready  to  consent  to  such  an  Act  of  Parliament,  as,  upon  mature 


422  English  Constitutional  Documents 

deliberation,  shall  be   offered   to  us,  for   the   full   granting   that 
indulgence. 

And  because,  in  the  continued  distractions  of  so  many  years, 
and  so  many  and  great  revolutions,  many  grants  and  purchases  of 
estates  have  been  made  to  and  by  many  officers,  soldiers  and 
others,  who  are  now  possessed  of  the  same,  and  who  may  be 
liable  to  actions  at  law  upon  several  titles,  we  are  likewise  willing 
that  all  such  differences,  and  all  things  relating  to  such  grants, 
sales  and  purchases,  shall  be  determined  in  Parliament,  which  can 
best  provide  for  the  just  satisfaction  of  all  men  who  are  concerned. 

And  we  do  further  declare,  that  we  will  be  ready  to  consent  to 
any  Act  or  Acts  of  Parliament  to  the  purposes  aforesaid,  and  for 
the  full  satisfaction  of  all  arrears  due  to  the  officers  and  soldiers 
of  the  army  under  the  command  of  General  Monk;  and  that 
they  shall  be  received  into  our  service  upon  as  good  pay  and 
conditions  as  they  now  enjoy. 

Given  under  our  Sign  Manual  and  Privy  Signet,  at  our 
Court  at  Breda,  this  T4T  day  of  April,  1660,  in  the 
twelfth  year  of  our  reign. 


222.    Act  abolishing   Relics   of  Feudalism  and 
Fixing  an  Excise 

(1660,  December  24.     12  Charles  II.  c.  24.     5  S.  JR.  259.) 

WHEREAS  it  hath  been  found  by  former  experience,  that 
the  court  of  wards  and  liveries,  and  tenures  by  knights 
service  either  of  the  king  or  others,  or  by  knights  service  in  capite, 
or  socage  in  capite  of  the  king,  and  the  consequents  upon  the 
same,  have  been  much  more  burdensome,  grievous  and  prejudicial 
to  the  kingdom  than  they  have  been  beneficial  to  the  king ;  and 
whereas  since  the  intermission  of  the  said  court,  which  hath  been 
from  the  four  and  twentieth  day  of  February,  which  was  in  the 
year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  six  hundred  forty  and  five,  many 
persons  have  by  will  and  otherwise  made  disposal  of  their  lands 
held  by  knights  service,  whereupon  divers  questions  might  possibly 
arise  unless  some  seasonable  remedy  be  taken  to  prevent  the 
same  :  be  it  therefore  enacted  by  the  king  our  sovereign  lord  with 
the  assent  of  the  lords  and  commons  in  parliament  assembled 
and  by  the  authority  of  the  same,  and  it  is  hereby  enacted,  that 
the  court  of  wards  and  liveries,  and  all  wardships,  liveries,  primer- 


Act  abolishing  Relics  of  Feudalism         423 

seisins  and  ouster-le-mains,  values  and  forfeitures  of  marriages,  by 
reason  of  any  tenure  of  the  king's  Majesty,  or  of  any  other  by 
knights  sen-ice,  and  all  mean  rates,  and  all  other  gifts,  grants,  charges, 
incident  or  arising  for  or  by  reason  of  wardships,  liveries,  primer- 
seisins  or  ouster-le-mains,  be  taken  away  and  discharged,  and  are 
hereby  enacted  to  be  taken  away  and  discharged,  from  the  said 
twenty-fourth  day  of  February  one  thousand  six  hundred  forty- 
five,  any  law,  statute,  custom,  or  usage  to  the  contrary  hereof  any 
wise  notwithstanding ;  and  that  all  fines  for  alienations,  seizures  and 
pardons  for  alienations,  tenure  by  homage  and  all  charges  incident 
or  arising  for  or  by  reason  of  wardship,  livery,  primer-seisin  or 
ouster-le-mains  or  tenure  by  knights  service,  scutage  and  also  aide 
pur  file  marrier  and  pur fair  fitz  chivatier  and  all  other  charges  inci- 
dent thereunto,  be  likewise  taken  away  and  discharged  from  the 
said  twenty-fourth  day  of  February  one  thousand  six  hundred  forty 
and  five,  any  law,  statute,  custom  or  usage  to  the  contrary  hereof 
any  wise  notwithstanding ;  and  that  all  tenures  by  knights  service 
of  the  king,  or  of  any  other  person,  and  by  knights  service  in  capite, 
and  by  socage  in  capite  of  the  king,  and  the  fruits  and  conse- 
quents thereof,  happened  or  which  shall  or  may  hereafter  happen 
or  arise  thereupon  or  thereby,  be  taken  away  and  discharged,  any 
law,  statute,  custom  or  usage  to  the  contrary  hereof  any  wise  not- 
withstanding ;  and  all  tenures  of  any  honours,  manors,  lands,  tene- 
ments or  hereditaments  of  any  estate  of  inheritance  at  the  common 
law  held  either  of  the  king  or  of  any  other  person  or  persons, 
bodies  politic  or  corporate,  are  hereby  enacted  to  be  turned  into 
free  and  common  socage  to  all  intents  and  purposes  from  the 
said  four  and  twentieth  day  of  February  one  thousand  six  hun- 
dred forty-five,  and  shall  be  so  construed,  adjudged  and  deemed 
to  be  from  the  said  twenty-fourth  day  of  February  one  thousand 
six  hundred  forty-five,  and  forever  thereafter  turned  into  free  and 
common  socage,  any  law,  statute,  custom  or  usage  to  the  contrary 
hereof  in  any  wise  notwithstanding ; 

II.  And  that  the  same  shall  for  ever  hereafter  stand  and  be  dis- 
charged of  all  tenure  by  homage,  scutage,  voyages  royal  and 
charges  for  the  same,  wardships  incident  to  tenure  by  knights  ser- 
vice, and  values  and  forfeitures  of  marriage,  and  all  other  charges 
incident  to  tenure  by  knights  service,  and  of  and  from  aide  pur  file 
marrier  and  aide  pur  fair  fitz  chivalicr,  any  law,  statute,  custom  or 
usage  to  the  contrary  in  any  wise  notwithstanding ;  and  that  all 
conveyances  and  devises  of  any  manors,  lands,  tenements  and 
hereditaments  made  since  the  said  twenty-fourth  of  February  shall 
be  expounded  to  be  of  such  effect,  as  if  the  same  manors,  lands, 


424          English  Constitutional  Documents 

tenements  and  hereditaments  had  been  then  held  and  continued 
to  be  holden  in  free  and  common  socage  only,  any  law,  statute, 
custom  or  usage  to  the  contrary  hereof  in  any  wise  notwithstanding. 

III.  And  be  it  further  ordained  and  enacted  by  authority  of 
this  present  parliament  that  one  act  made  in  the  reign  of  King 
Henry  the  Eighth,  entitled  An  Act  for  the  establishment  of  the 
court  of  the  king's  wards,  and  also  one  act  of  parliament  made  in 
the  three  and  thirtieth  year  of  the  reign  of  the  said  King  Henry 
the  Eighth  concerning  the  officers  of  the  court  of  wards  and  liver- 
ies, and  every  clause,  article  and  matter  in  the  said  acts  contained 
shall  from  henceforth  be  repealed  and  utterly  void. 

IV.  And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid  that 
all  tenures  hereafter  to  be  created  by  the  king's  Majesty,  his  heirs 
or  successors,  upon  any  gifts  or  grants  of  any  manors,  lands,  tene- 
ments or  hereditaments  of  any  estate  of  inheritance  at  the  com- 
mon  law   shall   be   in   free  and   common  socage,  and  shall  be 
adjudged  to  be  in  free  and  common  socage  only,  and  not  by 
knights  service  or  in  tapite,  and  shall  be  discharged  of  all  wardship, 
value  and  forfeiture  of  marriage,  livery,  primer- seisin,  ouster-le- 
main,  aide  pur  fair  fitz  chivalier,  and  pur  file  marrier,  any  law, 
statute  or  reservation  to  the  contrary  thereof  any  wise  notwith- 
standing. 

VIII.  And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  that 
where  any  person  hath  or  shall  have  any  child  or  children  under 
the  age  of  one  and  twenty  years,  and  not  married  at  the  time  of  his 
death,  that  it  shall  and  may  be  lawful  to  and  for  the  father  of  such 
child  or  children  *  *  *  by  his  deed  executed  in  his  life-time,  or 
by  his  last  will  and  testament  in  writing  *  *  *  to  dispose  of  the 
custody  and  tuition  of  such  child  or  children,  for  and  during  such 
time  as  he  or  they  shall  respectively  remain  under  the  age  of  one 
and  twenty  years,  or  any  lesser  time,  to  any  person  or  persons  in 
possession  or  remainder,  other  than  popish  recusants ;  *  *  * 

XL  *  *  *  That  from  henceforth  no  sum  or  sums  of  money  or 
other  thing  shall  be  taken,  raised,  taxed,  rated,  imposed,  paid  or 
levied  for  or  in  regard  of  any  provision,  carriages  or  purveyance  for 
his  Majesty,  his  heirs  or  successors. 

XII.  And  that  henceforth  no  person  or  persons  by  any  war- 
rant, commission  or  authority  under  the  great  seal  or  other- 
wise by  colour  of  buying  or  making  provision  or  purveyance 
for  his  Majesty,  or  any  queen  of  England  for  the  time  being, 


Corporation  Act  425 

or  of  any  the  children  of  any  king  or  queen  of  England  for 
the  time  being,  or  that  shall  be,  or  for  his  or  their  or  any  of  their 
household,  shall  take  any  timber,  fuel,  cattle,  corn,  grain,  malt, 
hay,  straw,  victual,  cart,  carriage  or  other  thing  whatsoever  of  any 
the  subjects  of  his  Majesty,  his  heirs  or  successors,  without  the 
free  and  full  consent  of  the  owner  or  owners  thereof  had  and 
obtained  without  menace  or  enforcement,  nor  shall  summon,  warn, 
take,  use  or  require  any  the  said  subjects  to  furnish  or  find  any 
horses,  oxen  or  other  [cattle],  carts,  ploughs,  wains  or  other  car- 
riages for  the  use  of  his  Majesty,  his  heirs  or  successors,  or  of  any 
queen  of  England,  or  of  any  child  or  children  of  any  the  kings  or 
queens  of  England  for  the  time  being,  for  the  carrying  the  goods 
of  his  Majesty,  his  heirs  or  successors,  or  the  said  queens  or  chil- 
dren or  any  of  them,  without  such  full  and  free  consent  as 
aforesaid,  any  law,  statute,  custom  or  usage  to  the  contrary  not- 
withstanding. 

XIV.  *  *  *  And  now  to  the  intent  and  purpose  that  his  Maj- 
esty, his  heirs  and  successors,  may  receive  a  full  and  ample  recom- 
pense and  satisfaction  as  well  for  *  *  *  and  other  the  premises 
and  perquisites  incident  thereunto ;  *  *  *  as  also  for  all  and  all 
manner  of  purveyance  and  provisions  hereinbefore  mentioned, 
#  *  # 

XV.  Be  it  therefore  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid  that  there 
shall  be  paid  unto  the  king's  Majesty,  his  heirs  and  successors  for 
ever  hereafter : 

[Then  follow  clauses  fixing  the  rate  of  an  excise  on  beer,  ale, 
cider,  perry,  metheglin,  mead,  aqua  vitae  or  strong-water,  coffee, 
chocolate,  sherbet,  tea,  the  method  of  raising  such  excise,  and 
penalties.] 


223.    Corporation  Act 

(1661,  December  20.      13  Charles  II,  st.  2.,  c.  I.      5  S".  K.  321.     The  whole 
reprinted  in  G.  and  H.  594-600.)] 

"\  1  7HEREAS  questions  are  likely  to  arise  concerning  the  validity 
»  V  of  elections  of  magistrates  and  other  officers  and  members  in 
corporations,  as  well  in  respect  of  removing  some  as  placing  others, 
during  the  late  troubles,  contrary  to  the  true  intent  and  meaning 
of  their  charters  and  liberties ;  and  to  the  end  that  the  succession 
in  such  corporations  may  be  most  probably  perpetuated  in  the 


426  English  Constitutional  Documents 

hands  of  persons  well  affected  to  His  Majesty  and  the  established 
government,  it  being  too  well  known  that  notwithstanding  all  His 
Majesty's  endeavours  and  unparalleled  indulgence  in  pardoning  all 
that  is  past,  nevertheless  many  evil  spirits  are  still  working : 

II.  Wherefore  for  prevention  of  the  like  mischief  for  the  time  to 
come,  and  for  preservation  of  the  public  peace  both  in  church  and 
state,  be  it  enacted  by  the  king's  most  excellent  Majesty  by  and  with 
the  advice  and  consent  of  the  lords  spiritual  and  temporal  and  com- 
mons assembled  in  Parliament,  and  by  the  authority  of  the  same, 
that  commissions  shall  before  the  twentieth  day  of  February  next 
be  issued  forth  under  the  great  seal  of  England  unto  such  persons 
as  His  Majesty  shall  appoint  for  the  executing  of  the  powers  and 
authorities  hereinafter  expressed,  and  that  all  and  every  the  per- 
sons to  be  named  commissioners  in  the  said  commissions  respec- 
tively shall  by  virtue  of  this  act  be  commissioners  respectively  for 
and  within  the  said  several  cities,  corporations   and   boroughs, 
and  Cinque  ports  and  their  members,  and  other  port  towns  within 
the  kingdom  of  England,  dominion  of  Wales  and  town  of  Berwick 
upon  Tweed,  for  which  they  shall  be  respectively  nominated  and 
appointed. 

III.  And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  that  no 
charter  of  any  corporation,  cities,  towns,  boroughs,  Cinque  ports 
and  their  members,  and  other  port  towns  in  England  or  Wales  or 
town  of  Berwick  upon  Tweed  shall  at  any  time  hereafter  be  avoided 
for  or  by  reason  of  any  act  or  thing  done  or  omitted  to  be  done 
before  the  first  day  of  this  present  parliament. 

IV.  And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  that 
all  persons  who  upon  the  four  and  twentieth  day  of  December  one 
thousand  six  hundred  sixty  and  one  shall  be  mayors,  aldermen, 
recorders,  bailiffs,  town-clerks,  common   council  men  and  other 
persons  then  bearing  any  office  or  offices  of  magistracy  or  places 
or  trusts  or  other  employment  relating  to  or  concerning  the  govern- 
ment of  the  said  respective  cities,  corporations  and  boroughs,  and 
Cinque  ports  and  their  members,  and  other  port  towns  shall  at  any 
time  before  the  five  and  twentieth  day  of  March  one  thousand  six 
hundred  sixty  and  three,  when  they  shall  be  thereunto  required  by 
the  said  respective  commissioners  or  any  three  or  more  of  them,  take 
the  oaths  of  allegiance  and  supremacy,  and  this  oath  following : 

V.  '  I,  A.  B.,  do  declare  and  believe,  that  it  is  not  lawful  upon  any 
pretence  whatsoever  to  take  arms  against  the  king,  and  that  I  do 
abhor   that   traitorous  position  of  taking   arms  by  his   authority 
against  his  person  or  against  those  that  are  commissioned  by  him  : 
So  help  me  God.' 


Last  Act  of  Uniformity  427 

VI.  And  also  at  the  same  time  shall  publicly  subscribe  before 
the  said  commissioners  or  any  three  of  them  this  following  declara- 
tion: 

'  I,  A.  B.,  do  declare,  that  I  hold  that  there  lies  no  obligation  upon 
me  or  any  other  person  from  the  oath  commonly  called  the  Solemn 
League  and  Covenant,  and  that  the  same  was  in  itself  an  unlawful 
oath  and  imposed  upon  the  subjects  of  this  realm  against  the 
known  laws  and  liberties  of  the  kingdom.' 

VII.  And  that  all  such  of  the  said  mayors  and  other  the  per- 
sons aforesaid  by  whom  the  said  oaths  are  to  be  taken  and  declara- 
tions subscribed  as  aforesaid,  who  shall  refuse  to  take  and  subscribe 
the  same  within  the  time  and  in  manner  aforesaid,  shall  from  and 
immediately  after  such  refusal  be  by  authority  of  this  act  (ipso 
facto)  removed  and  displaced  of  and  from  the  said  offices  and 
places  respectively;  and  the  said  offices  and  places  from  and 
immediately  after  such  refusal  shall  be  and  are  hereby  declared 
and  adjudged  to  be  void  to  all  intents  and  purposes,  as  if  the  said 
respective  persons  so  refusing  were  naturally  dead. 

XII.  Provided  also,  and  be  it  enacted  by  the  authority  afore- 
said, that  from  and  after  the  expiration  of  the  said  commissions, 
no  person  or  persons  shall  for  ever  hereafter  be  placed,  elected  or 
chosen  in  or  to  any  the  offices  or  places  aforesaid,  that  shall  not 
have,  within  one  year  next  before  such  election  or  choice,  taken 
the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  according  to  the  rites  of  the 
Church  of  England ;  and  that  every  such  person  and  persons  so 
placed,  elected  or  chosen  shall  likewise  take  the  aforesaid  three 
oaths  and  subscribe  the  said  declaration,  at  the  same  time  when 
the  oath  for  the  due  execution  of  the  said  places  and  offices  re- 
spectively shall  be  administered ;  and  in  default  hereof  every  such 
placing,  election  and  choice  is  hereby  enacted,  and  declared  to  be 
void. 


224.    Last  Act  of  Uniformity 

(1662,  May  19.     13  &  14  Charles  II.  c.  4.     c  5".  K.  364.     The  whole  re- 
printed in  G.  and  H.  660-619.) 

X1THEREAS  in  the  first  year  of  the  late  Queen  Elizabeth  there 

VV    was  one  uniform  order  of  common  service  and  prayer  and 

of  the  administration  of  sacraments,  rites  and  ceremonies  in  the 

Church  of  England  (agreable  to  the  word  of  God  and  usage  of 


428          English  Constitutional  Documents 

the  primitive  church)  compiled  by  the  reverend  bishops  and  clergy, 
set  forth  in  one  book,  entitled,  'The  Book  of  Common  Prayer 
and  Administration  of  Sacraments  and  other  Rites  and  Ceremonies 
in  the  Church  of  England,'  and  enjoined  to  be  used  by  act  of  par- 
liament, holden  in  the  said  first  year  of  the  said  late  queen,  entitled, 
'An  Act  for  the  Uniformity  of  Common  Prayer  and  Service  in  the 
Church  and  Administration  of  the  Sacraments,'  very  comfortable 
to  all  good  people  desirous  to  live  in  Christian  conversation  and 
most  profitable  to  the  estate  of  this  realm,  upon  the  which  the 
mercy,  favour  and  blessing  of  Almighty  God  is  in  no  wise  so  readily 
and  plentifully  poured,  as  by  common  prayers,  due  using  of  the 
sacraments  and  often  preaching  of  the  gospel  with  devotion  of  the 
hearers  ;  and  yet,  this  notwithstanding,  a  great  number  of  people  in 
divers  parts  of  this  realm,  following  their  own  sensuality  and  living 
without  knowledge  and  due  fear  of  God,  do  wilfully  and  schis- 
matically  abstain  and  refuse  to  come  to  their  parish  churches  and 
other  public  places  where  common  prayer,  administration  of  the  sac- 
raments and  preaching  of  the  word  of  God  is  used  upon  the  Sundays 
and  other  days  ordained  and  appointed  to  be  kept  and  observed 
as  holy  days ;  and  whereas  by  the  great  and  scandalous  neglect  of 
ministers  in  using  the  said  order  or  liturgy  so  set.  forth  and  enjoined 
as  aforesaid,  great  mischiefs  and  inconveniences  during  the  times 
of  the  late  unhappy  troubles  have  arisen  and  grown,  and  many 
people  have  been  led  into  factions  and  schisms,  to  the  great  decay 
and  scandal  of  the  reformed  religion  of  the  Church  of  England, 
and  to  the  hazard  of  many  souls ;  for  prevention  whereof  in  time 
to  come,  for  settling  the  peace  of  the  church  and  for  allaying  the 
present  distempers,  which  the  indisposition  of  the  time  hath  con- 
tracted, the  king's  Majesty,  according  to  his  declaration  of  the  five 
and  twentieth  of  October  one  thousand  six  hundred  and  sixty, 
granted  his  commission  under  the  great  seal  of  England  to  several 
bishops  and  other  divines  to  review  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer, 
and  to  prepare  such  alterations  and  additions  as  they  thought  fit 
to  offer  ;  and  afterwards  the  convocations  of  both  the  provinces  of 
Canterbury  and  York  being  by  his  Majesty  called  and  assembled, 
and  now  sitting,  his  Majesty  hath  been  pleased  to  authorize  and 
require  the  presidents  of  the  said  convocations,  and  other  the 
bishops  and  clergy  of  the  same,  to  review  the  said  Book  of  Com- 
mon Prayer  and  the  book  of  the  form  and  manner  of  the  making 
and  consecrating  of  bishops,  priests  and  deacons,  and  that  after 
mature  consideration  they  should  make  such  additions  and  altera- 
tions in  the  said  books  respectively,  as  to  them  should  seem  meet 
and  convenient,  and  should  exhibit  and  present  the  same  to  his 


Last  Act  of  Uniformity  429 

Majesty  in  writing  for  his  further  allowance  or  confirmation ;  since 
which  time  upon  full  and  mature  deliberation  they,  the  said  presi- 
dents, bishops  and  clergy  of  both  provinces,  have  accordingly 
reviewed  the  said  books  and  have  made  some  alterations  which 
they  think  fit  to  be  inserted  to  the  same,  and  some  additional 
prayers  to  the  said  Book  of  Common  Prayer  to  be  used  upon 
proper  and  emergent  occasions,  and  have  exhibited  and  presented 
the  same  unto  his  Majesty  in  writing  in  one  book,  entitled,  'The  Book 
of  Common  Prayer  and  Administration  of  the  Sacraments  and 
other  Rites  and  Ceremonies  of  the  Church  according  to  the  Use 
of  the  Church  of  England,  together  with  the  Psalter  or  Psalms  of 
David,  pointed  as  they  are  to  be  sung  or  said  in  Churches,  and  the 
Form  and  Manner  of  Making,  Ordaining  and  Consecrating  of 
Bishops,  Priests  and  Deacons ' ;  all  which  his  Majesty  having  duly 
considered,  hath  fully  approved  and  allowed  the  same,  and  recom- 
mended to  this  present  parliament  that  the  said  Books  of  Common 
Prayer,  and  of  the  Form  of  Ordination  and  Consecration  of  Bishops, 
Priests  and  Deacons,  with  the  alterations  and  additions  which  have 
been  so  made  and  presented  to  his  Majesty  by  the  said  convoca- 
tions, be  the  book  which  shall  be  appointed  to  be  used  by  all  that 
officiate  in  all  cathedral  and  collegiate  churches  and  chapels,  and 
in  all  chapels  of  colleges  and  halls  in  both  the  universities,  and  the 
colleges  of  Eton  and  Winchester,  and  in  all  parish  churches  and 
chapels  within  the  kingdom  of  England,  dominion  of  Wales  and 
town  of  Berwick  upon  Tweed,  and  by  all  that  make  or  consecrate 
bishops,  priests  or  deacons  in  any  of  the  said  places,  under  such 
sanctions  and  penalties  as  the  houses  of  parliament  shall  think  fit  : 
II.  Now  in  regard  that  nothing  conduceth  more  to  the  settling  of 
the  peace  of  this  nation,  (which  is  desired  of  all  good  men)  nor  to 
the  honour  of  our  religion  and  the  propagation  thereof,  than  an  uni- 
versal agreement  in  the  public  worship  of  Almighty  God,  and  to  the 
intent  that  every  person  within  this  realm  may  certainly  know  the 
rule  to  which  he  is  to  conform  in  public  worship  and  administra- 
tion of  sacraments  and  other  rites  and  ceremonies  of  the  Church 
of  England,  and  the  manner  how  and  by  whom  bishops,  priests 
and  deacons  are  and  ought  to  be  made  ordained  and  consecrated  : 
be  it  enacted  by  the  king's  most  excellent  Majesty,  by  the  advice 
and  with  the  consent  of  the  lords  spiritual  and  temporal  and  the 
commons  in  this  present  parliament  assembled,  and  by  the  author- 
ity of  the  same,  that  all  and  singular  ministers  in  any  cathedral, 
collegiate  or  parish  church,  or  chapel,  or  other  place  of  public  wor- 
ship within  this  realm  of  England,  dominion  of  Wales  and  town  of 
Berwick  upon  Tweed  shall  be  bound  to  say  and  use  the  morning 


430  English  Constitutional  Documents 

prayer,  evening  prayer,  celebration  and  administration  of  both  the 
sacraments,  and  all  other  the  public  and  common  prayer,  in  such 
order  and  form  as  is  mentioned  in  the  said  book  annexed  and 
joined  to  this  present  act,  and  entitled,  '  The  Book  of  Common 
Prayer  and  Administration  of  the  Sacraments  and  other  Rites  and 
Ceremonies  of  the  Church,  according  to  the  Use  of  the  Church 
of  England,  together  with  the  Psalter  or  Psalms  of  David,  pointed 
as  they  are  to  be  sung  or  said  in  Churches,  and  the  Form  or  Man- 
ner of  Making,  Ordaining  and  Consecrating  of  Bishops,  Priests  and 
Deacons  ' ;  and  that  the  morning  and  evening  prayers  therein  con- 
tained shall  upon  every  Lord's  day  and  upon  all  other  days  and 
occasions  and  at  the  times  therein  appointed,  be  openly  and 
solemnly  read  by  all  and  every  minister  or  curate,  in  every  church, 
chapel  or  other  place  of  public  worship  within  this  realm  of  Eng- 
land and  places  aforesaid. 

III.  And  to  the  end  that  uniformity  in  the  public  worship  of 
God  (which  is  so  much  desired)  may  be  speedily  effected,  be  it 
further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  that  every  parson,  vicar 
or  other  minister  whatsoever,  who  now  hath  and  enjoyeth  any  ec- 
clesiastical benefice  or  promotion  within  this  realm  of  England  or 
places  aforesaid,  shall  in  the  church,  chapel  or  place  of  public 
worship  belonging  to  his  said  benefice  or  promotion,  upon  some 
Lord's  day  before  the  feast  of  Saint  Bartholomew  which  shall  be 
in  the  year  of  our  Lord  God  one  thousand  six  hundred  sixty  and 
two,  openly,  publicly  and  solemnly  read  the  morning  and  evening 
prayer  appointed  to  be  read  by  and  according  to  the  said  Book 
of  Common  Prayer  at  the  times  thereby  appointed ;   and  after 
such  reading  thereof  shall  openly  and  publicly  before  the  congre- 
gation there  assembled  declare  his  unfeigned  assent  and  consent 
to  the  use  of  all  things  in  the  said  book  contained  and  prescribed, 
in  these  words  and  no  other  : 

IV.  I,  A.  B.,  do  here  declare  my  unfeigned  assent  and  consent  to 
all  and  everything  contained  and  prescribed  in  and  by  the  book, 
entitled,  'The  Book  of  Common  Prayer  and  Administration  of  the 
Sacraments  and  other  Rites  and  Ceremonies  of  the  Church  accord- 
ing to  the  Use  of  the  Church  of  England,  together  with  the  Psalter 
or  Psalms  of  David,  pointed  as  they  are  to  be  sung  or  said  in 
Churches,  and  the  Form  or  Manner  of  Making,  Ordaining  and 
Consecrating  of  Bishops,  Priests  and  Deacons.' 

V.  And   that  all  and  every  such  person,  who  shall  (without 
some  lawful  impediment  to  be  allowed  and  approved  of  by  the 
ordinary  of  the  place)  neglect  or  refuse  to  do  the  same  within  the 
time  aforesaid  (or  in  case  of  such  impediment  within  one  month 


First  Conventicle  Act  431 

after  such  impediment  removed)  shall,  ipso  facto,  be  deprived  of 
all  his  spiritual  promotions ;  and  that  from  thenceforth  it  shall  be 
lawful  to  and  for  all  patrons  and  donors  of  all  and  singular  the 
said  spiritual  promotions  or  of  any  of  them,  according  to  their  re- 
spective rights  and  titles,  to  present  or  collate  to  the  same,  as 
though  the  person  or  persons  so  offending  or  neglecting  were  dead. 


225.   First  Conventicle  Act 

(1664,  May  17.     1 6  Charles  II.  c.  4.     5  S.  R.  516.) 

WHEREAS  an  act  made  in  the  five  and  thirtieth  year  of  the 
reign  of  our  late  sovereign  lady  Queen  Elizabeth,  entitled, 
An  Act  to  retain  the  Queen's  Majesty's  subjects  in  their  due  obedi- 
ence, hath  not  been  put  in  due  execution  by  reason  of  some  doubt 
of  late  made,  whether  the  said  act  be  still  in  force,  although  it  be 
very  clear  and  evident,  and  it  is  hereby  declared,  that  the  said 
act  is  still  in  force  and  ought  to  be  put  in  due  execution ;  for 
providing  therefore  of  further  and  more  speedy  remedies  against 
the  growing  and  dangerous  practices  of  seditious  sectaries  and 
other  disloyal  persons,  who,  under  pretence  of  tender  consciences, 
do  at  their  meetings,  contrive  insurrections  as  late  experience 
hath  showed ;  be  it  enacted  by  the  king's  most  excellent  Majesty 
by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  lords  spiritual  and 
temporal,  and  commons  in  this  present  parliament  assembled,  and 
by  the  authority  of  the  same,  that  if  any  person  of  the  age  of  six- 
teen years  or  upwards,  being  a  subject  of  this  realm,  at  any  time 
after  the  first  day  of  July,  which  shall  be  in  the  year  of  our  Lord 
one  thousand  six  hundred  sixty  and  four,  shall  be  present  at  any 
assembly,  conventicle  or  meeting,  under  colour  or  pretence  of  any 
exercise  of  religion  in  other  manner  than  is  allowed  by  the  liturgy 
or  practice  of  the  Church  of  England,  in  any  place  within  the 
kingdom  of  England,  dominion  of  Wales  or  town  of  Berwick-upon- 
Tweed,  at  which  conventicle,  meeting  or  assembly  there  shall  be 
five  persons  or  more  assembled  together  over  and  above  those  of 
the  same  household,  then  it  shall  and  may  be  lawful  to  and  for  any 
two  justices  of  the  peace  of  the  county,  limit,  division  or  liberty 
wherein  the  offence  aforesaid  shall  be  committed,  or  for  the  chief 
magistrate  of  the  place  where  such  offence  aforesaid  shall  be  com- 
mitted (if  it  be  within  a  corporation  where  there  are  not  two  jus- 


432  English  Constitutional  Documents 

tices  of  the  peace),  and  they  are  hereby  required  and  enjoined 
upon  proof  to  them  or  him  respectively  made  of  such  offence, 
either  by  confession  of  the  party,  or  oath  of  witnesses,  or  notori- 
ous evidence  of  the  fact  (which  oath  the  said  justices  of  the  peace 
and  chief  magistrate  respectively  are  hereby  empowered  and  re- 
quired to  administer),  to  make  a  record  of  every  such  offence  and 
offences  under  their  hands  and  seals  respectively,  which  record  so 
made  as  aforesaid  shall  to  all  intents  and  purposes  be  in  law  taken 
and  adjudged  to  be  a  full  and  perfect  conviction  of  every  such  of- 
fender for  such  offence,  and  thereupon  the  said  justices  and  chief 
magistrate  respectively  shall  commit  every  such  offender  so  con- 
victed as  aforesaid  to  the  gaol,  or  house  of  correction,  there  to 
remain  without  bail  or  mainprise  for  any  time  not  exceeding  the 
space  of  three  months,  unless  such  offender  shall  pay  down  to  the 
said  justices  or  chief  magistrate  such  sum  of  money,  not  exceeding 
five  pounds,  as  the  justices  or  chief  magistrate  (who  are  hereby 
thereunto  authorized  and  required)  shall  fine  the  said  offender  at 
for  his  or  her  said  offence,  which  money  shall  be  paid  to  the  church 
wardens  for  the  relief  of  the  poor  of  the  parish,  where  such  offender 
did  last  inhabit. 


III.  And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  that 
if  any  such  offender  so  convicted  of  a  second  offence  contrary  to  this 
act  in  manner  aforesaid  shall  at  any  time  again  commit  the  like 
offence  contrary  to  this  act,  then  any  two  justices  of  the  peace 
and  chief  magistrate  as  aforesaid  respectively  shall  commit  every 
such  offender  to  the  gaol  or  house  of  correction,  there  to  remain 
without  bail  or  mainprise,  until  the  next  general  quarter  sessions, 
assizes,  gaol-delivery,  great  sessions  or  sitting  of  any  commission 
of  oyer  and  terminer  in  the  respective  county,  limit,  division  or 
liberty  which  shall  first  happen,  when  and  where  every  such  of- 
fender shall  be  proceeded  against  by  indictment  for  such  offence, 
and  shall  forthwith  be  arraigned  upon  such  indictment,  and  shall 
then  plead  the  general  issue  of  not  guilty  and  give  any  special 
matter  in  evidence,  or  confess  the  indictment,  and  if  such  offender 
proceeded  against  shall  be  lawfully  convicted  of  such  offence  either 
by  confession  or  verdict,  or  if  such  offender  shall  refuse  to  plead  the 
general  issue  or  to  confess  the  indictment,  then  the  respective  jus- 
tices of  the  peace  at  their  general  quarter  sessions,  judges  of  assize 
and  gaol-delivery  at  the  assizes  and  gaol  delivery,  justices  of  the 
great  sessions  at  the  great  sessions  and  commissioners  of  oyer  and 
terminer  at  their  sitting,  are  hereby  enabled  and  required  to  cause 


Five  Mile  Act  433 

judgment  to  be  entered  against  such  offender,  that  such  offender 
shall  be  transported  beyond  the  seas  to  any  of  His  Majesty's 
foreign  plantations  (Virginia  and  New  England  only  excepted) 
there  to  remain  seven  years. 


226.    Five  Mile  Act 

(1665,  October  31.     17  Charles  IL  c.  2.    5  S.  Jf.  575.    The  whole  reprinted 
in  G.  and  H.  pp.  620-623.) 


III.  AND  all  such  person  and  persons  as  shall  take  upon  them 
to  preach  in  any  unlawful  assembly,  conventicle  or  meeting  under 
colour  or  pretence  of  any  exercise  of  religion,  contrary  to  the  laws 
and  statutes  of  this  kingdom,  shall  not  at  any  time  from  and  after 
the  four  and  twentieth  day  of  March  which  shall  be  in  this  present 
year  of  our  Lord  God  one  thousand  six  hundred  sixty  and  five, 
unless  only  in  passing  upon  the  road,  come  or  be  within  five  miles 
of  any  city  or  town  corporate  or  borough  that  sends  burgesses  to 
the  parliament,  within  His  Majesty's  kingdom  of  England,  prin- 
cipality of  Wales  or  of  the  town  of  Berwick  upon  Tweed,  or  within 
five  miles  of  any  parish  town  or  place,  wherein  he  or  they  have  since 
the  act  of  oblivion  been  parson,  vicar,  curate,  stipendiary  or 
lecturer,  or  taken  upon  them  to  preach  hi  any  unlawful  assembly, 
conventicle  or  meeting  under  colour  or  pretence  of  any  exercise  of 
religion,  contrary  to  the  laws  and  statutes  of  this  kingdom,  before 
he  or  they  have  taken  and  subscribed  the  oath  aforesaid  before  the 
justices  of  peace  at  then-  quarter  sessions  to  be  holden  for  the 
county,  riding  or  division  next  unto  the  said  corporation,  city  or 
borough,  parish,  place  or  town,  in  open  court  (which  said  oath 
the  said  justices  are  hereby  empowered  there  to  administer),  upon 
forfeiture  for  every  such  offence  the  sum  of  forty  pounds  of  lawful 
English  money,  the  one  third  part  thereof  to  His  Majesty  and  his 
successors,  the  other  third  part  to  the  use  of  the  poor  of  the  parish 
where  the  offence  shall  be  committed,  and  the  other  third  part 
thereof  to  such  person  or  persons  as  shall  or  will  sue  for  the  same 
by  action  of  debt,  plaint,  bill  or  information  in  any  court  of  record 
at  Westminster,  or  before  any  justices  of  assize,  oyer  and  terminer 
or  gaol  delivery,  or  before  any  justices  of  the  counties  palatine  of 
Chester,  Lancaster  or  Durham,  or  the  justices  of  the  great  sessions 


434          English  Constitutional  Documents 

in  Wales,  or  before  any  justices  of  peace  in  their  quarter  sessions, 
wherein  no  essoin,  protection  or  wager  of  law  shall  be  allowed. 

IV.  Provided  always,  and  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority 
aforesaid,  that  it  shall  not  be  lawful  for  any  person  or  persons  re- 
strained from  coming  to  any  city,  town  corporate,  borough,  parish, 
town  or  place  as  aforesaid,  or  for  any  other  person  or  persons  as 
shall  not  first  take  and  subscribe  the  said  oath,  and  as  shall  not 
frequent  divine  service  established  by  the  laws  of  this  kingdom, 
and  carry  him  or  herself  reverently,  decently  and  orderly  there, 
to  teach  any  public  or  private  school,  or  take  any  boarders  or 
tablers  that  are  taught  or  instructed  by  him  or  herself,  or  any  other, 
upon  pain  for  every  such  offence  to  forfeit  the  sum  of  forty  pounds, 
to  be  recovered  and  distributed  as  aforesaid. 


227.    Charles  IPs  Declaration  of  Indulgence 

(1673,  February  I.     Cobbett's  Parliamentary  History,  iv.  515.) 

QUR  care  and  endeavours  for  the  preservation  of  the  rights 
and  interests  of  the  Church  have  been  sufficiently  mani- 
fested to  the  world  by  the  whole  course  of  our  government,  since 
our  happy  restoration,  and  by  the  many  and  frequent  ways  of 
coercion  that  we  have  used  for  reducing  all  erring  or  dissenting 
persons,  and  for  composing  the  unhappy  differences  in  matters  of 
religion,  which  we  found  among  our  subjects  upon  our  return. 
But  it  being  evident  by  the  sad  experience  of  twelve  years,  that 
there  is  very  little  fruit  of  all  those  forcible  courses,  we  think  our- 
selves obliged  to  make  use  of  that  supreme  power  in  ecclesiastical 
matters,  which  is  not  only  inherent  in  us  but  hath  been  declared 
and  recognized  to  be  so  by  several  statutes  and  acts  of  parliament. 
And  therefore  we  do  now  accordingly  issue  out  this  our  royal  dec- 
laration, as  well  for  the  quieting  the  minds  of  our  good  subjects  in 
these  points,  for  inviting  strangers  in  this  conjuncture  to  come  and 
live  under  us,  and  for  the  better  encouragement  of  all  to  a  cheer- 
ful following  of  their  trades  and  callings,  from  whence  we  hope,  by 
the  blessing  of  God,  to  have  many  good  and  happy  advantages  to 
our  government ;  as  also  for  preventing  for  the  future  the  danger 
that  might  otherwise  arise  from  private  meetings,  and  seditious 
conventicles.  And  in  the  first  place,  we  declare  our  express  reso- 
lution, meaning,  and  intention  to  be,  that  the  Church  of  England 


Charles  II's  Declaration  of  Indulgence      435 

be  preserved,  and  remain  entire  in  its  doctrine,  discipline,  and 
government,  as  now  it  stands  established  by  law  :  and  that  this  be 
taken  to  be,  as  it  is,  the  basis,  rule  and  standard  of  the  general 
and  public  worship  of  God,  and  that  the  orthodox  conformable 
clergy  do  receive  and  enjoy  the  revenues  belonging  thereunto; 
and  that  no  person,  though  of  different  opinion  and  persuasion, 
shall  be  exempt  from  paying  his  tithes,  or  other  dues  whatsoever. 
And  further,  we  declare,  that  no  person  shall  be  capable  of  hold- 
ing any  benefice,  living,  or  ecclesiastical  dignity  or  preferment  of 
any  kind  in  this  kingdom  of  England,  who  is  not  exactly  conform- 
able. We  do  in  the  next  place  declare  our  will  and  pleasure  to 
be,  that  the  execution  of  all  and  all  manner  of  penal  laws  in  mat- 
ters ecclesiastical,  against  whatsoever  sort  of  non-conformists,  or 
recusants,  be  immediately  suspended,  and  they  are  hereby  sus- 
pended. And  all  judges  of  assize  and  gaol-delivery,  sheriffs, 
justices  of  the  peace,  mayors,  bailiffs,  and  other  officers  whatsoever, 
whether  ecclesiastical  or  civil,  are  to  take  notice  of  it,  and  pay  due 
obedience  thereunto.  And  that  there  may  be  no  pretence  for  any 
of  our  subjects  to  continue  their  illegal  meetings  and  conventicles, 
we  do  declare,  that  we  shall  from  time  to  time  allow  a  sufficient 
number  of  places,  as  shall  be  desired,  in  all  parts  of  this  our  king- 
dom, for  the  use  of  such  as  do  not  conform  to  the  Church  of 
England,  to  meet  and  assemble  in,  in  order  to  their  public  worship 
and  devotion ;  which  places  shall  be  open  and  free  to  all  persons. 
But  to  prevent  such  disorders  and  inconveniences  as  may  happen 
by  this  our  indulgence,  if  not  duly  regulated,  and  that  they  may 
be  the  better  protected  by  the  civil  magistrate,  our  express  will 
and  pleasure  is,  that  none  of  our  subjects  do  presume  to  meet  in 
any  place,  until  such  place  be  allowed,  and  the  teacher  of  that 
congregation  be  approved  by  us.  And  lest  any  should  apprehend, 
that  this  restriction  should  make  our  said  allowance  and  approba- 
tion difficult  to  be  obtained,  we  do  further  declare,  that  this  our 
indulgence,  as  to  the  allowance  of  public  places  of  worship,  and 
approbation  of  teachers,  shall  extend  to  all  sorts  of  non-conform- 
ists and  recusants,  except  the  recusants  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
religion,  to  whom  we  shall  no  ways  allow  in  public  places  of  wor- 
ship, but  only  indulge  them  their  share  in  the  common  exemption 
from  the  executing  the  penal  laws,  and  the  exercise  of  their 
worship  in  their  private  houses  only.  And  if  after  this  our  clem- 
ency and  indulgence,  any  of  our  subjects  shall  presume  to  abuse 
this  liberty,  and  shall  preach  seditiously,  or  to  the  derogation  of 
the  doctrine,  discipline,  or  government  of  the  established  church, 
or  shall  meet  in  places  not  allowed  by  us ;  we  do  hereby  give 


436  English  Constitutional  Documents 

them  warning,  and  declare,  we  will  proceed  against  them  with  all 
imaginable  severity  :  and  we  will  let  them  see,  we  can  be  as  severe 
to  punish  such  offenders,  when  so  justly  provoked,  as  we  are  in- 
dulgent to  truly  tender  consciences. 


228.  Test  Act 

(1673,  March  29.     25  Charles  II.  c.  2.     5  S.  R.  782.    The  whole  reprinted  in 
G.  and  H.  pp.  632-640.) 

"C*OR  preventing  dangers  which  may  happen  from  popish  recu- 
A  sants  and  quieting  the  minds  of  His  Majesty's  good  sub- 
jects :  be  it  enacted  by  the  king's  most  excellent  Majesty,  by  and 
with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  lords  spiritual  and  temporal 
and  the  commons  in  this  present  parliament  assembled,  and  by 
authority  of  the  same,  that  all  and  every  person  or  persons,  as  well 
peers  as  commoners,  that  shall  bear  any  office  or  offices,  civil  or 
military,  or  shall  receive  any  pay,  salary,  fee  or  wages  by  reason 
of  any  patent  or  grant  from  His  Majesty,  or  shall  have  command 
or  place  of  trust  from  or  under  His  Majesty,  or  from  any  of  His 
Majesty's  predecessors,  or  by  his  or  their  authority,  or  by  author- 
ity derived  from  him  or  them,  within  the  realm  of  England,  domin- 
ion of  Wales  or  town  of  Berwick  upon  Tweed,  or  in  His  Majesty's 
navy,  or  in  the  several  islands  of  Jersey  and  Guernsey,  or  shall  be 
of  the  household  or  in  the  service  or  employment  of  His  Majesty, 
or  of  His  Royal  Highness  the  duke  of  York,  who  shall  inhabit, 
reside  or  be  within  the  city  of  London  or  Westminster  or  within 
thirty  miles  distant  from  the  same,  on  the  first  day  of  Easter  term 
that  shall  be  in  the  year  of  our  Lord,  one  thousand  six  hundred 
seventy-three,  or  at  any  time  during  the  said  term,  all  and  every 
the  said  person  and  persons  shall  personally  appear  before  the 
end  of  the  said  term,  or  of  Trinity  term  next  following,  in  His 
Majesty's  high  court  of  chancery  or  in  His  Majesty's  court  of 
king's  bench,  and  there  in  public  and  open  court,  between  the 
hours  of  nine  of  the  clock  and  twelve  in  the  forenoon,  take  the 
several  oaths  of  supremacy  and  allegiance,  which  oath  of  allegiance 
is  contained  in  the  statute  made  in  the  third  year  of  King  James, 
by  law  established,  and  during  the  time  of  the  taking  thereof  by 
the  said  person  and  persons  all  pleas  and  proceedings  in  the  said 
respective  courts  shall  cease ;  and  that  all  and  every  of  the  said 
respective  persons  and  officers,  not  having  taken  the  said  oaths  in 


Test  Act  437 

the  said  respective  courts  aforesaid,  shall  on  or  before  the  first  day 
of  August,  one  thousand  six  hundred  seventy-three,  at  the  quarter 
sessions  for  that  county  or  place  where  he  or  they  shall  be,  inhabit 
or  reside  on  the  twentieth  day  of  May,  take  the  said  oaths  in  open 
court  between  the  said  hours  of  nine  and  twelve  of  the  clock  in 
the  forenoon*;  and  the  said  respective  officers  aforesaid  shall  also 
receive  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper  according  to  the 
usage  of  the  Church  of  England,  at  or  before  the  first  day  of 
August,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  six  hundred  and 
seventy-three,  in  some  parish  church,  upon  some  Lord's  day,  com- 
monly called  Sunday,  immediately  after  divine  service  and  sermon. 
II.  And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  that 
aD  and  every  person  or  persons  that  shall  be  admitted,  entered, 
placed  or  taken  into  any  office  or  offices  civil  or  military,  or  shall 
receive  any  pay,  salary,  fee  or  wages  by  reason  of  any  patent  or 
grant  of  His  Majesty,  or  shall  have  command  or  place  of  trust 
from  or  under  His  Majesty,  his  heirs  or  successors,  or  by  his  or  their 
authority,  or  by  authority  derived  from  him  or  them,  within  this 
realm  of  England,  dominion  of  Wales  or  town  of  Berwick  upon 
Tweed,  or  in  His  Majesty's  navy,  or  in  the  several  islands  of  Jersey 
and  Guernsey,  or  that  shall  be  admitted  into  any  service  or  em- 
ployment in  His  Majesty's  or  royal  highness's  household  or  fam- 
ily after  the  first  day  of  Easter  term  aforesaid,  and  shall  inhabit, 
be,  or  reside,  when  he  or  they  is  or  are  so  admitted  or  placed, 
within  the  cities  of  London  or  Westminster  or  within  thirty  miles 
of  the  same,  shall  take  the  said  oaths  aforesaid  in  the  said  respec- 
tive court  or  courts  aforesaid,  in  the  next  term  after  such  his  or 
their  admittance  or  admittances  into  the  office  or  offices,  employ- 
ment or  employments  aforesaid,  between  the  hours  aforesaid  and 
no  other,  and  the  proceedings  to  cease  as  aforesaid  :  and  that  all 
and  every  such  person  or  persons  to  be  admitted  after  the  first 
day  of  Easter  term  as  aforesaid,  not  having  taken  the  said  oaths  in 
the  said  courts  aforesaid,  shall  at  the  quarter  sessions  for  that 
county  or  place  where  he  or  they  shall  reside,  next  after  such  his 
admittance  or  admittances  into  any  of  the  said  respective  offices 
or  employments  aforesaid,  take  the  said  several  and  respective 
oaths  as  aforesaid ;  and  all  and  every  such  person  and  persons  so 
to  be  admitted  as  aforesaid  shall  also  receive  the  sacrament  of  the 
Lord's  Supper,  according  to  the  usage  of  the  Church  of  England, 
within  three  months  after  his  or  their  admittances  in,  or  receiving 
their  said  authority  and  employment,  in  some  public  church  upon 
some  Lord's  day,  commonly  called  Sunday,  immediately  after 
divine  service  and  sermon. 


438  English  Constitutional  Documents 

III.  And  every  of  the  said  persons  in  the  respective  court 
where  he  takes  the  said  oaths  shall  first  deliver  a  certificate  of 
such  his  receiving  the  said   sacrament   as   aforesaid,  under  the 
hands  of   the  respective   minister  and  churchwarden,  and  shall 
then  make  proof  of  the  truth  thereof  by  two  credible  witnesses 
at  the  least  upon  oath,  all  which  shall  be  inquired-  of  and  put 
upon  record  in  the  respective  courts. 

IV.  And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  that 
all  and  every  the  person  or  persons  aforesaid,  that  do  or  shall 
neglect  or  refuse  to  take  the  said  oaths  and  sacrament  in  the  said 
courts  and  places,  and  at  the  respective  times  aforesaid,  shall  be 
ipso  facto  adjudged  incapable  and  disabled  in  law  to  all  intents 
and  purposes  whatsoever  to  have,  occupy  or  enjoy  the  said  office 
or  offices,  employment  or   employments,  or  any  part  of  them  or 
any  matter  or  thing  aforesaid,  or  any  profit  or  advantage  appertain- 
ing to  them  or  any  of  them,  and  every  such  office  and  place,  em- 
ployment and  employments  shall  be  void,  and  is  hereby  adjudged 
void. 

V.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  that  all  and  every  such  person 
or  persons  that  shall  neglect  or  refuse  to  take  the  said  oaths  or  the 
sacrament  as  aforesaid,  within  the  times  and  in  the  places  aforesaid, 
and  in  the  manner  aforesaid,  and  yet  after  such  neglect  or  refusal 
shall  execute  any  of  the  said  offices  or  employments  after  the  said 
times  expired,  wherein  he  or  they  ought  to  have  taken  the  same, 
and  being  thereupon  lawfully  convicted  in  or  upon  any  informa- 
tion, presentment  or  indictment  in  any  of  the  king's  courts  at 
Westminster,  or  at  the  assizes,  every  such  person  and  persons  shall 
be  disabled  from  thenceforth  to  sue  or  use  any  action,  bill,  plaint 
or  information  in  course  of  law,  or  to  prosecute  any  suit  in  any 
court  of  equity,  or  to  be  guardian  of  any  child,  or  executor  or  ad- 
ministrator of  any  person,  or  capable  of  any  legacy  or  deed  of 
gift,  or  to  bear  any  office  within  this  realm  of  England,  dominion 
of  Wales  or  town  of  Berwick  upon  Tweed,  and  shall  forfeit  the 
sum  of  five  hundred  pounds,  to  be  recovered  by  him  or  them  that 
shall  sue  for  the  same,  to  be  prosecuted  by  any  action  of  debt, 
suit,  bill,  plaint,  or  information  in  any  of  His   Majesty's  courts 
at   Westminster,  wherein  no  essoin,  protection  or  wager  of  law 
shall  lie. 


IX.  And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  that 
at  the  same  time  when  the  persons  concerned  in  this  act  shall  take 
the  aforesaid  oaths  of  supremacy  and  allegiance,  they  shall  like- 


Exclusion  Bill  439 

wise  make  and  subscribe  this  declaration  following,  under  the  same 
penalties  and  forfeitures  as  by  this  act  is  appointed  : 

I,  A.  B.,  do  declare,  that  I  do  believe  that  there  is  not  any  tran- 
substantiation  in  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  or  hi  the 
elements  of  bread  and  wine,  at,  or  after  the  consecration  thereof 
by  any  person  whatsoever. 

X.  Of  which  subscription  there  shall  be  the  like  register  kept  as 
of  the  taking  of  the  oaths  aforesaid. 


229 


i.    Resolution  concerning  the  Royal  Pardon 
in  Bar  of  Danby's  Impeachment 

(1679,  May  5.    Cobbett's  Parliamentary  History,  iv.  1129.) 

THE  commons  resolved:  "That  it  was  the  opinion  of  this 
house,  that  the  pardon  pleaded  by  the  earl  of  Danby  was 
illegal  and  void,  and  ought  not  to  be  allowed  in  bar  of  the 
impeachment  of  the  commons  of  England."  After  which,  Mr. 
Speaker,  with  the  whole  house,  went  up  to  the  lords'  bar,  and 
demanded  judgment  against  the  earl  hi  these  words  : 

"  My  lords ;  the  knights,  citizens  and  burgesses,  hi  parliament 
assembled,  are  come  up  to  demand  judgment,  in  their  own  names, 
and  the  names  of  all  the  commons  of  England,  against  Thomas,  earl 
of  Danby,  who  stands  impeached  by  them  before  your  lordships 
of  hightreason,  and  divers  high  crimes  and  misdemeanors;  to 
which  he  has  pleaded  a  pardon  :  which  pardon  the  commons  con- 
ceive to  be  illegal  and  void ;  and  therefore  they  do  demand  judg- 
ment of  your  lordships  accordingly." 


230.    Exclusion  Bill 

(1679,  May  15.     Cobbett's  Parliamentary  History,  iv.  1136.) 

MAY  15.    The  Exclusion  Bill  was  called  for  and  read  the  first 
time.     It  set  forth,  after  the  particulars  of  the  execrable  con- 
spiracy :  "  That  the  emissaries,  priests  and  agents  for  the  pope 
had  traitorously  seduced  James,  duke  of  York,  presumptive  heir 
to  these  crowns,  to  the  communion  of  the  church  of  Rome ;  and 


440  English  Constitutional  Documents 

had  induced  him  to  enter  into  several  negotiations  with  the  pope, 
his  cardinals  and  nuncios,  for  promoting  the  Romish  church  and 
interest ;  and  by  his  means  and  procurement,  had  advanced  the 
power  and  greatness  of  the  French  king,  to  the  manifest  hazard 
of  these  kingdoms.  That  by  descent  of  these  crowns  upon  a 
papist,  and  by  foreign  alliances  and  assistance,  they  might  be 
able  to  succeed  in  their  wicked  and  villainous  designs."  Then, 
after  another  preamble,  they  enacted  to  this  effect:  i.  "That 
the  said  James,  duke  of  York,  should  be  incapable  of  inheriting 
the  crowns  of  England,  Scotland,  and  Ireland,  with  their  depend- 
encies;  and  of  enjoying  any  of  the  titles,  rights,  prerogatives  and 
revenues  belonging  to  the  said  crowns.  2.  That  in  case  his 
majesty  should  happen  to  die,  or  resign  his  dominions,  they 
should  devolve  to  the  person  next  in  succession,  in  the  same 
manner  as  if  the  duke  was  dead.  3.  That  all  acts  of  sovereignty 
and  royalty  that  prince  might  then  happen  to  perform,  were  not 
only  declared  void,  but  to  be  high  treason,  and  punishable  as  such. 
4.  That  if  any  one,  at  any  time  whatsoever,  should  endeavour  to 
bring  the  said  duke  into  any  of  the  fore-mentioned  dominions,  or 
correspond  with  him  in  order  to  make  him  inherit,  he  should  be 
guilty  of  high  treason.  5.  That  if  the  duke  himself  ever  returned 
into  any  of  these  dominions,  considering  the  mischiefs  that  must 
ensue,  he  should  be  looked  upon  as  guilty  of  the  same  offense  ;  and 
all  persons  were  authorized  and  required,  to  seize  upon  and  imprison 
him ;  and  in  case  of  resistance  made  by  him  or  his  adherents,  to 
subdue  them  by  force  of  arms." 


231.    Habeas  Corpus  Act 

(1679,  May  26.     31    Charles  II.  c.  2.     5  S.  R.  935.     Stubbs,  Select  Charters, 
S^-SZi.) 

WHEREAS  great  delays  have  been  used  by  sheriffs,  gaolers 
and  other  officers,  to  whose  custody  any  of  the  king's 
subjects  have  been  committed  for  criminal  or  supposed  criminal 
matters,  in  making  returns  of  writs  of  Habeas  Corpus  to  them 
directed  by  standing  out  an  Alias  and  Pluries  Habeas  Corpus  and 
sometimes  more,  and  by  other  shifts  to  avoid  their  yielding  obe- 
dience to  such  writs,  contrary  to  their  duty  and  the  known  laws  of 
the  land,  whereby  many  of  the  king's  subjects  have  been  and  here- 
after may  be  long  detained  in  prison  in  such  cases  where  by  law 
they  are  bailable,  to  their  great  charge  and  vexation. 


Habeas  Corpus  Act  441 

II.  For  the  prevention  whereof  and  the  more  speedy  relief  of  all 
persons  imprisoned  for  any  such  criminal  or  supposed  criminal  mat- 
ters ;  be  it  enacted  by  the  king's  most  excellent  Majesty,  by  and 
with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  lords  spiritual  and  temporal  and 
commons  in  this  present  parliament  assembled,  and  by  the  authority 
thereof,  that  whensoever  any  person  or  persons  shall  bring  any 
habeas  corpus  directed  unto  any  sheriff  or  sheriffs,  gaoler,  minister 
or  other  person  whatsoever  for  any  person  in  his  or  their  custody, 
and  the  said  writ  shall  be  served  upon  the  said  officer  or  left  at 
the  gaol  or  prison  with  any  of  the  under  officers,  under  keepers  or 
deputy  of  the  said  officers  or  keepers,  that  the  said  officer  or  offi- 
cers, his  or  their  under  officers,  under  keepers  or  deputies  shall 
within  three  days  after  the  service  thereof  as  aforesaid  (unless  the 
commitment  aforesaid  were  for  treason  or  felony,  plainly  and  spe- 
cially expressed  in  the  warrant  of  commitment)  upon  payment 
or  tender  of  the  charges  of  bringing  the  said  prisoner,  to  be  ascer- 
tained by  the  judge  or  court  that  awarded  the  same  and  endorsed 
upon  the  said  writ,  not  exceeding  twelve  pence  per  mile,  and 
upon  security  given  by  his  own  bond  to  pay  the  charges  of  carry- 
ing back  the  prisoner,  if  he  shall  be  remanded  by  the  court  or 
judge  to  which  he  shall  be  brought  according  to  the  true  intent 
of  this  present  act,  and  that  he  will  not  make  any  escape  by  the 
way,  make  return  of  such  writ ;  and  bring  or  cause  to  be  brought 
the  body  of  the  party  so  committed  or  restrained  unto  or  before 
the  lord  chancellor,  or  lord  keeper  of  the  great  seal  of  England, 
for  the  time  being,  or  the  judges  or  barons  of  the  said  court  from 
whence  the  said  writ  shall  issue,  or  unto  and  before  such  other 
person  or  persons  before  whom  the  said  writ  is  made  returnable, 
according  to  the  command  thereof ;  and  shall  then  likewise  certify 
the  true  causes  of  his  detainer  or  imprisonment ;  unless  the  com- 
mitment of  the  said  party  be  in  any  place  beyond  the  distance  of 
twenty  miles  from  the  place  or  places  where  such  court  or  person 
is  or  shall  be  residing,  and  if  beyond  the  distance  of  twenty  miles 
and  not  above  one  hundred  miles  then  within  the  space  of  ten 
days,  and  if  beyond  the  distance  of  one  hundred  miles  then  within 
the  space  of  twenty  days  after  such  delivery  aforesaid,  and  not 
longer. 

III.  And  to  the  intent  that  no  sheriff,  gaoler  or  other  officer  may 
pretend  ignorance  of  the  import  of  any  such  writ ;  be  it  enacted  by 
the  authority  aforesaid,  that  all  such  writs  shall  be  marked  in  this 
manner,  Per  statutum  tricesimo  primo  Caroli  Secundi  regis,  and 
shall  be  signed  by  the  person  that  awards  the  same ;  and  if  any 
person  or  persons  shall  be  or  stand  committed  or  detained  as  afore- 


442  English  Constitutional  Documents 

said,  for  any  crime,  unless  for  treason  or  felony  plainly  expressed  in 
the  warrant  of  commitment,  in  the  vacation  time,  and  out  of  term, 
it  shall  and  may  be  lawful  to  and  for  the  person  or  persons  so  com- 
mitted or  detained  (other  than  persons  convict  or  in  execution 
by  legal  process)  or  any  one  on  his  or  their  behalf  to  appeal  or 
complain  to  the  lord  chancellor  or  lord  keeper  or  any  one  of  His 
Majesty's  justices,  either  of  the  one  bench  or  of  the  other,  or  the 
barons  of  the  exchequer  of  the  degree  of  the  coif;  and  the  said 
lord  chancellor,  lord  keeper,  justices  or  barons  or  any  of  them,  upon 
view  of  the  copy  or  copies  of  the  warrant  or  warrants  of  commit- 
ment and  detainer,  or  otherwise  upon  oath  made  that  such  copy  or 
copies  were  denied  to  be  given  by  such  person  or  persons  in  whose 
custody  the  prisoner  or  prisoners  is  or  are  detained,  are  hereby 
authorised  and  required,  upon  request  made  in  writing  by  such 
person  or  persons  or  any  on  his,  her  or  their  behalf,  attested  and 
subscribed  by  two  witnesses  who  were  present  at  the  delivery  of 
the  same,  to  award  and  grant  an  habeas  corpus,  under  the  seal  of 
such  court  whereof  he  shall  then  be  one  of  the  judges,  to  be  directed 
to  the  officer  or  officers  in  whose  custody  the  party  so  committed 
or  detained  shall  be,  returnable  immediate  before  the  said  lord 
chancellor  or  lord  keeper,  or  such  justice,  baron  or  any  other  justice 
or  baron  of  the  degree  of  the  coif  of  any  of  the  said  courts ;  and 
upon  service  thereof  as  aforesaid,  the  officer  or  officers,  his  or  their 
under  officer  or  under  officers,  under  keeper  or  under  keepers,  or 
deputy,  in  whose  custody  the  party  is  so  committed  or  detained, 
shall  within  the  times  respectively  before  limited  bring  such  pris- 
oner or  prisoners  before  the  said  lord  chancellor  or  lord  keeper, 
or  such  justices,  barons  or  one  of  them,  before  whom  the  said 
writ  is  made  returnable,  and  in  case  of  his  absence  before  any  other 
of  them,  with  the  return  of  such  writ  and  the  true  causes  of  the 
commitment  and  detainer ;  and  thereupon  within  two  days  after  the 
party  shall  be  brought  before  them,  the  said  lord  chancellor  or  lord 
keeper,  or  such  justice  or  baron  before  whom  the  prisoner  shall  be 
brought  as  aforesaid,  shall  discharge  the  said  prisoner  from  his  impris- 
onment, taking  his  or  their  recognizance  with  one  or  more  surety 
or  sureties  in  any  sum  according  to  their  discretions,  having  regard 
to  the  quality  of  the  prisoner  and  nature  of  the  offence,  for  his  or 
their  appearance  in  the  court  of  king's  bench  the  term  following 
or  at  the  next  assizes,  sessions  or  general  gaol-delivery  of  and  for 
such  county,  city  or  place  where  the  commitment  was,  or  where 
the  offence  was  committed,  or  in  such  other  court  where  the  said 
offence  is  properly  cognizable,  as  the  case  shall  require,  and  then 
shall  certify  the  said  writ  with  the  return  thereof  and  the  said  re- 


Habeas  Corpus  Act  443 

cognizance  or  recognizances  into  the  said  court  where  such  appear- 
ance is  to  be  made ;  unless  it  sfiall  appear  unto  the  said  lord 
chancellor  or  lord  keeper,  or  justice  or  justices,  or  baron  or  barons, 
that  the  party  so  committed  is  detained  upon  a  legal  process, 
order  or  warrant  out  of  some  court  that  hath  jurisdiction  of  criminal 
matters,  or  by  some  warrant  signed  and  sealed  with  the  hand  and  seal 
of  any  of  the  said  justices  or  barons,  or  some  justice  or  justices  of 
the  peace,  for  such  matters  or  offences  for  the  which  by  the  law  the 
prisoner  is  not  bailable. 

IV.  Provided  always,  and  be  it   enacted,  that  if  any  person 
shall  have  wilfully  neglected  by  the  space  of  two  whole  terms  after 
his  imprisonment  to  pray  a  habeas  corpus  for  his  enlargement,  such 
person  so  wilfully  neglecting  shall  not  have  any  habeas  corpus  to 
be  granted  in  vacation  time  in  pursuance  of  this  act. 

V.  And  be  it  farther  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  that  if 
any  officer  or  officers,  his  or  their  under-officer  or  under-officers, 
under-keeper  or  under-keepers,  or  deputy,  shall  neglect  or  refuse  to 
make  the  returns  aforesaid,  or  to  bring  the  body  or  bodies  of  the 
prisoner  or  prisoners  according  to  the  command  of  the  said  writ, 
within  the  respective  times  aforesaid,  or  upon  demand  made  by 
the  prisoner  or  person  in  his  behalf  shall  refuse  to  deliver,  or  within 
the  space  of  six  hours  after  demand  shall  not  deliver,  to  the  person 
so  demanding,  a  true  copy  of  the  warrant  or  warrants  of  commit- 
ment and  detainer  of  such  prisoner,  which  he  and  they  are  hereby 
required  to  deliver  accordingly ;  all  and  every  the  head  gaolers  and 
keepers  of  such  prisons,  and  such  other  person  in  whose  custody 
the  prisoner  shall  be  detained,  shall  for  the  first  offence  forfeit  to 
the  prisoner  or  party  grieved  the  sum  of  one  hundred  pounds ;  and 
for   the   second   offence    the   sum  of  two   hundred  pounds  and 
shall  and  is  hereby  made  incapable  to  hold  or  execute  his  said 
office  ;  the  said  penalties  to  be  recovered  by  the  prisoner  or  party 
grieved,  his  executors  or  administrators,  against  such  offender,  his 
executors  or  administrators,  by  any  action  of  debt,  suit,  bill,  plaint 
or   information,  in   any  of   the    king's   courts    at    Westminster, 
wherein  no  essoin,  protection,  privilege,  injunction,  wager  of  law 
or  stay  of  prosecution  by  Non  vult  ulterius  prosequi  or  otherwise 
shall  be  admitted  or  allowed,  or  any  more  than  one  imparlance  ;  and 
any  recovery  or  judgment  at  the  suit  of  any  party  grieved  shall  be  a 
sufficient  conviction  for  the  first  offence ;  and  any  after  recovery  or 
judgment  at  the  suit  of  a  party  grieved  for  any  offence  after  the 
first  judgment  shall  be  a  sufficient  conviction  to  bring  the  officers 
or  person  within  the  said  penalty  for  the  second  offence. 

VI.  And  for  the  prevention  of  unjust  vexation  by  reiterated  com- 


444  English  Constitutional  Documents 

mitments  for  the  same  offence  ;  'be  it  enacted  by  the  authority  afore- 
said, that  no  person  or  persons,  which  shall  be  delivered  or  set  at 
large  upon  any  habeas  corpus,  shall  at  any  time  hereafter  be  again 
imprisoned  or  committed  for  the  same  offence  by  any  person  or 
persons  whatsoever,  other  than  by  the  legal  order  and  process  of 
such  court  wherein  he  or  they  shall  be  bound  by  recognizance  to 
appear  or  other  court  having  jurisdiction  of  the  cause  ;  and  if  any 
other  person  or  persons  shall  knowingly  contrary  to  this  act  recom- 
mit or  imprison  or  knowingly  procure  or  cause  to  be  recommitted 
or  imprisoned  for  the  same  offence  or  pretended  offence  any 
person  or  persons  delivered  or  set  at  large  as  aforesaid,  or  be  know- 
ingly aiding  or  assisting  therein,  then  he  or  they  shall  forfeit  to  the 
prisoner  or  party  grieved  the  sum  of  five  hundred  pounds,  any 
colourable  pretence  or  variation  in  the  warrant  or  warrants  of  com- 
mitment notwithstanding,  to  be  recovered  as  aforesaid. 

VII.  Provided  always,  and  be  it  further  enacted,  that  if  any  per- 
son or  persons  shall  be  committed  for  high  treason  or  felony,  plainly 
and  specially  expressed  in  the  warrant  of  commitment,  upon  his 
prayer  or  petition  in  open  court  the  first  week  of  the  term  or  first 
day  of  the  sessions  of  oyer  and  terminer  or  general  gaol  delivery  to 
be  brought  to  his  trial,  shall  not  be  indicted  sometime  in  the  next 
term,  sessions  of  oyer  and  terminer  or  general  gaol  delivery  after 
such  commitment ;  it  shall  and  may  be  lawful  to  and  for  the  judges 
of  the  court  of  king's  bench  and  justices  of  oyer  and  terminer  or 
general  gaol  delivery  and  they  are  hereby  required,  upon  motion  to 
them  made  in  open  court  the  last  day  of  the  term,  sessions  or  gaol 
delivery,  either  by  the  prisoner  or  any  one  in  his  behalf,  to  set  at 
liberty  the  prisoner  upon  bail,  unless  it  appear  to  the  judges  and 
justices  upon  oath  made,  that  the  witnesses  for  the  king  could  not 
be  produced  the  same  term,  sessions  or  general  gaol  delivery ;  and 
if  any  person  or  persons,  committed  as  aforesaid,  upon  his  prayer  or 
petition  in  open  court  the  first  week  of  the  term  or  first  day  of  the 
sessions  of  oyer  and  terminer  or  general  gaol  delivery  to  be  brought 
to  his  trial,  shall  not  be  indicted  and  tried  the  second  term,  ses- 
sions of  oyer  and  terminer  or  general  gaol  delivery  after  his  commit- 
ment, or  upon  his  trial  shall  be  acquitted,  he  shall  be  discharged 
from  his  imprisonment. 

VIII.  Provided  always,  that  nothing  in  this  act  shall  extend  to 
discharge  out  of  prison  any  person  charged  in  debt  or  other  action 
or  with  process  in  any  civil  cause,  but  that  after  he  shall  be  dis- 
charged of  his  imprisonment  for  such  his  criminal  offence,  he  shall 
be  kept  in  custody  according  to  law  for  such  other  suit. 

IX.  Provided  always,  and  be  it  enacted  by  the  authority  afore- 


Habeas  Corpus  Act  445 

said,  that  if  any  person  or  persons,  subjects  of  this  realm,  shall  be 
committed  to  any  prison  or  in  custody  of  any  officer  or  officers 
whatsoever  for  any  criminal  or  supposed  criminal  matter,  that  the 
said  person  shall  not  be  removed  from  the  said  prison  and  custody 
into  the  custody  of  any  other  officer  or  officers ;  unless  it  be  by 
habeas  corpus  or  some  other  legal  writ,  or  where  the  prisoner  is 
delivered  to  the  constable  or  other  inferior  officer  to  carry  such 
prisoner  to  some  common  gaol,  or  where  any  person  is  sent  by 
order  of  any  judge  of  assize  or  justice  of  the  peace  to  any  com- 
mon work-house  or  house  of  correction,  or  where  the  prisoner 
is  removed  from  one  prison  or  place  to  another  within  the 
same  county,  in  order  to  his  or  her  trial  or  discharge  in  due 
course  of  law,  or  in  case  of  sudden  fire  or  infection  or  other 
necessity ;  and  if  any  person  or  persons  shall  after  such  commit- 
ment aforesaid  make  out  and  sign  or  countersign  any  warrant 
or  warrants  for  such  removal  aforesaid,  contrary  to  this  act,  as 
well  he  that  makes  or  signs  or  countersigns  such  warrant  or 
warrants  as  the  officer  or  officers  that  obey  or  execute  the  same 
shall  suffer  and  incur  the  pains  and  forfeitures  in  this  act  before- 
mentioned,  both  for  the  first  and  second  offence  respectively,  to  be 
recovered  in  manner  aforesaid  by  the  party  grieved. 

X.  Provided  also,  and  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority 
aforesaid,  that  it  shall  and  may  be  lawful  to  and  for  any  prisoner 
and  prisoners  as  aforesaid  to  move  and  obtain  his  or  their  habeas 
corpus  as  well  out  of  the  high  court  of  chancery  or  court  of  ex- 
chequer as  out  of  the  court  of  king's  bench  or  common  pleas  or 
either  of  them ;  and  if  the  said  lord  chancellor  or  lord  keeper,  or 
any  judge  or  judges,  baron  or  barons  for  the  time  being  of  the 
degree  of  the  coif,  of  any  of  the  courts  aforesaid,  in  the  vacation 
time  upon  view  of  the  copy  or  copies  of  the  warrant  or  warrants 
of  commitment  or  detainer,  or  upon  oath  made  that  such  copy  or 
copies  were  denied  as  aforesaid,  shall  deny  any  writ  of  habeas 
corpus  by  this  act  required  to  be  granted  being  moved  for  as  afore- 
said, they  shall  severally  forfeit  to  the  prisoner  or  party  grieved 
the  sum  of  five  hundred  pounds,  to  be  recovered  in  manner  afore- 
said. 

XI.  And  be  it  enacted  and  declared  by  the  authority  aforesaid, 
that  an  habeas  corpus  according  to  the  true  intent  and  meaning 
of  this  act  may  be  directed  and  run  into  any  county  palatine,  the 
Cinque  ports,  or  other  privileged  places  within  the  kingdom  of 
England,  dominion  of  Wales  or  town  of  Berwick  upon  Tweed,  and 
the  islands  of  Jersey  or  Guernsey,  any  law  or  usage  to  the  contrary 
notwithstanding. 


446  English  Constitutional  Documents 

XII.  And  for  preventing  illegal  imprisonments  in  prisons  beyond 
the  seas ;  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  that  no 
subject  of  this  realm  that  now  is  or  hereafter  shall  be  an  inhabit- 
ant or  resident  of  this  kingdom  of  England,  dominion  of  Wales 
or  town  of  Berwick  upon  Tweed  shall  or  may  be  sent  prisoner  into 
Scotland,  Ireland,  Jersey,  Guernsey,  Tangier  or  into  any  parts, 
garrisons,  islands  or  places  beyond  the  seas,  which  are  or  at  any 
time  hereafter  shall  be  within  or  without  the  dominions  of  his 
majesty,  his  heirs  or  successors  ;  and  that  every  such  imprisonment 
is  hereby  enacted  and  adjudged  to  be  illegal ;  and  that  if  any  of 
the  said  subjects  now  is  or  hereafter  shall  be  so  imprisoned  every 
such  person  and  persons  so  imprisoned  shall  and  may  for  every 
such  imprisonment  maintain  by  virtue  of  this  act  an  action  or  ac- 
tions of  false  imprisonment  in  any  of  his  majesty's  courts  of  record 
against  the  person  or  persons  by  whom  he  or  she  shall  be  so  com- 
mitted, detained,  imprisoned,  sent  prisoner  or  transported,  con- 
trary to  the  true  meaning  of  this  act,  and  against  all  or  any  person 
or  persons  that  shall  frame,  contrive,  write,  seal  or  countersign 
any  warrant  or  writing  for  such  commitment,  detainer,  imprison- 
ment or  transportation,  or  shall  be  advising,  aiding  or  assisting  in 
the  same  or  any  of  them ;  and  the  plaintiff  in  every  such  action 
shall  have  judgment  to  recover  his  treble  costs,  besides  damages, 
which  damages  so  to  be  given  shall  not  be  less  than  five  hundred 
pounds ;  in  which  action  no  delay,  stay  or  stop  of  proceeding  by 
rule,  order  or  command,  nor  no  injunction,  protection  or  privilege 
whatsoever,  nor  any  more  than  one  imparlance,  shall  be  allowed, 
excepting  such  rule  of  the  court  wherein  the  action  shall  depend, 
made  in  open  court,  as  shall  be  thought  in  justice  necessary,  for 
special  cause  to  be  expressed  in  the  said  rule ;  and  the  person  or 
persons  who  shall  knowingly  frame,  contrive,  write,  seal  or  counter- 
sign any  warrant  for  such  commitment,  detainer  or  transportation, 
or  shall  so  commit,  detain,  imprison  or  transport  any  person  or  per- 
sons, contrary  to  this  act,  or  be  any  ways  advising,  aiding  or  assist- 
ing therein,  being  lawfully  convicted  thereof,  shall  be  disabled  from 
thenceforth  to  bear  any  office  of  trust  or  profit  within  the  said 
realm  of  England,  dominion  of  Wales  or  town  of  Berwick  upon 
Tweed,  or  any  of  the  islands,  territories  or  dominions  thereunto 
belonging ;  and  shall  incur  and  sustain  the  pains,  penalties  and  for- 
feitures limited,  ordained  and  provided  in  and  by  the  statute  of  pro- 
vision and  praemunire,  made  in  the  sixteenth  year  of  King  Richard 
the  Second ;  and  be  incapable  of  any  pardon  from  the  king,  his 
heirs  or  successors,  of  the  said  forfeitures,  losses  or  disabilities,  or 
any  of  them. 


Habeas  Corpus  Act  447 

XIII.  Provided  always,  that  nothing  in  this  act  shall  extend  to 
give  benefit  to  any  person  who  shall  by  contract  in  writing  agree 
with  any  merchant  or  owner  of  any  plantation,  or  other  person  what- 
soever, to  be  transported  to  any  parts  beyond  seas,  and  receive 
earnest  upon  such  agreement,  although  that  afterwards  such  per- 
son shall  renounce  such  contract. 

XIV.  Provided  always,  and  be  it  enacted,  that  if  any  person 
or  persons  lawfully  convicted  of  any  felony  shall  in  open  court 
pray  to  be  transported  beyond  the  seas,  and  the  court  shall  think  fit 
to  leave  him  or  them  in  prison  for  that  purpose,  such  person  or 
persons  may  be  transported  into  any  parts  beyond  the  seas,  this 
act  or  anything  therein  contained  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding. 

XV.  Provided  also,  and  be  it  enacted,  that  nothing  herein  con- 
tained shall  be  deemed,  construed  or  taken  to  extend  to  the  im- 
prisonment of  any  person  before  the  first  day  of  June  one  thousand 
six  hundred  seventy  and  nine,  or  to  anything  advised,  procured  or 
otherwise   done  relating  to  such  imprisonment,  anything  herein 
contained  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding. 

XVI.  Provided  also,  that  if  any  person  or  persons  at  any  time 
resident  in  this  realm  shall  have  committed  any  capital  offence  in 
Scotland  or  Ireland  or  any  of  the  islands  or  foreign  plantations  of 
the  king,  his  heirs  or  successors,  where  he  or  she  ought  to  be  tried 
for  such  offence,  such  person  or  persons  may  be  sent  to  such  place 
there  to  receive  such  trial  in  such  manner  as  the  same  might  have 
been  used  before  the  making  of  this  act,  anything  herein  contained 
to  the  contrary  notwithstanding. 

XVII.  Provided  also,  and  be  it  enacted,  that  no  person  or  per- 
sons shall   be    sued,  impleaded,  molested  or  troubled   for  any 
offence  against  this  act,  unless  the  party  offending  be  sued  or  im- 
pleaded for  the  same  within  two  years  at  the  most  after  such  time 
wherein  the  offence  shall  be  committed,  in  case  the  party  grieved 
shall  not  be  then  in  prison ;  and  if  he  shall  be  in  prison,  then  within 
the  space  of  two  years  after  the  decease  of  the  person  imprisoned, 
or  his  or  her  delivery  out  of  prison,  which  shall  first  happen. 

XVIII.  And  to  the  intent  no  person  may  avoid  his  trial  at  the 
assizes  or  general  gaol  delivery  by  procuring  his  removal  before  the 
assizes,  at  such  time  as  he  cannot  be  brought  back  to  receive  his 
trial  there  ;  be  it  enacted,  that  after  the  assizes  proclaimed  for  that 
county  where  the  prisoner  is  detained,  no  person  shall  be  removed 
from  the  common  gaol  upon  any  habeas  corpus  granted  in  pursu- 
ance of  this  act,  but  upon  any  such  habeas  corpus  shall  be  brought 
before  the  judge  of  assize  in  open  court,  who  is  thereupon  to  do 
what  to  justice  shall  appertain. 


448  English  Constitutional  Documents 

XIX.  Provided  nevertheless,  that  after  the  assizes  are  ended 
any  person  or  persons  detained  may  have  his  or  her  habeas  corpus 
according  to  the  direction  and  intention  of  this  act. 

XX.  And  be  it  also  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  that  if 
any  information,  suit  or  action  shall  be  brought  or  exhibited  against 
any  person  or  persons  for  any  offence  committed  or  to  be  com- 
mitted against  the  form  of  this  law,  it  shall  be  lawful  for  such  de- 
fendants to  plead  the  general  issue  that  they  are  not  guilty,  or  that 
they  owe  nothing,  and  to  give  such  special  matter  in  evidence  to 
the  jury  that  shall  try  the  same,  which  matter  being  pleaded  had 
been  good  and  sufficient  matter  in  law  to  have  discharged  the  said 
defendant  or  defendants  against  the  said  information,  suit  or  action, 
and  the  said  matter  shall  then  be  as  available  to  him  or  them  to 
all  intents  and  purposes,  as  if  he  or  they  had  sufficiently  pleaded, 
set  forth  or  alleged  the  same  matter  in  bar  or  discharge  of  such 
information,  suit  or  action. 

XXI.  And  because  many  times'persons  charged  with  petty  trea- 
son or  felony  or  as  accessories  thereunto  are  committed  upon  sus- 
picion only,  whereupon  they  are  bailable  or  not  according  as  the 
circumstances  making  out  that  suspicion  are  more  or  less  weighty, 
which  are  best  known  to  the  justices  of  peace  that  committed  the 
persons,  and  have  the  examinations  before  them,  or  to  other  jus- 
tices of  the  peace  in  the  county ;  be  it  therefore  enacted,  that  where 
any  person  shall  appear  to  be  committed  by  any  judge  or  justice 
of  the  peace  and  charged  as  accessory  before  the  fact  to  any  petty 
treason  or  felony  or  upon  suspicion  thereof,  or  with  suspicion  of 
petty  treason  or  felony  which  petty  treason  or  felony  shall  be 
plainly  and  specially  expressed  in  the  warrant  of  commitment, 
that  such  person  shall  not  be  removed  or  bailed  by  virtue  of  this 
act,  or  in  any  other  manner  than  they  might  have  been  before  the 
making  of  this  act. 


232.    Forfeiture  of  Charter  of  London 

(1683.    8  State  Trials,  1264,  1265.) 

Reply  of  the  Lord  Chief  Justice  to  the  Argument  on  Behalf  of  the 
Corporation 

BUT  this  is  one  thing,  Mr.  Pollexfen,  that  I  would  say  to  you 
upon  your  argument,  what  a  grievous  thing  would  it  be,  if  so 
be  the  being  of  a  corporation  might  be  forfeited  or  dissolved, 
because  say  you,  it  is  possible  that  all  the  corporations  in  Eng- 


Forfeiture  of  Charter  of  London  449 

land  may  be  dissolved  because  they  may  bare  committed 
such  things  that  may  be  forfeitures.  We  must  pat  the  scales 
equal  on  both  sides.  Let  us  then  consider  on  the  other 
side,  whether,  if  so  be  that  it  should  be  taken  for  law,  that  a 
corporation  is  indissoluble  or  cannot  be  dissolved  for  any  crime 
whatsoever,  then  those  two  things  do  not  follow ;  —  First,  you  wfll 
shut  out  the  king's  Quo  Warranto,  let  him  have  what  reason  he  can 
for  it,  or  let  them  do  what  they  wfll :  and  in  the  next  place,  you  have 
set  up  so  many  independent  commonwealths.  For  if  a  corporation 
may  do  nothing  amiss  whatsoever,  what  else  does  follow,  for  now 
I  am  not  upon  the  point  whether  this  corporation  has  done  any 
act  that  is  amiss,  but  considering  your  argument  in  general,  when 
you  make  it  a  thing  of  such  ill  consequence  that  a  corporation 
should  be  forfeited  by  any  crime ;  but  I  say  now,  to  put  in  the 
other  scale  the  mischiefs  that  would  follow,  if  so  be  by  law  a 
corporation  might  not  be  dissolved  for  one  fault  or  another :  But 
"jet  them  do  what  they  would,  it  should  still  remain  a  corporation. 
Then  it  is  plain,  they  are  so  many  commonwealths  independent 
upon  the  king,  and  the  king's  Quo  Warranto  is  quite  shut  out,  that 
is  mighty  considerable. 


The  next  term,  viz.  Trinit.  35  Car.  2.  (Chief  Justice  Sounders 
dying  the  day  of  the  judgment  given,  or  the  next  day  after)  Mr. 
justice  Jones,  justice  Raymond,  and  justice  Withens,  being  in 
court,  justice  Jones  pronounced  the  judgment  of  the  court,  and 
justice  Raymond  and  justice  Withens  affirmed,  that  chief  justice 
Saunders  was  of  the  same  opinion  with  them,  and  that  they  all 
agreed. 

1.  That  a  corporation  aggregate  might  be  seized.    That  the 
statute  28  Ed.  3,  cap.  10,  is  express,  that  the  franchises  and  liberties 
of  the  city,  upon  such  defaults,  should  be  taken  into  the  king's  hands. 
And  that  bodies  politic  may  offend,  and  be  pardoned,  appears  by 
the  general  article  of  pardon,  12  Car.  2,  whereby  corporations  are 
pardoned  all  crimes  and  offences.     And  the  act  for  regulating  cor- 
porations, 13  Car.  2,  which  provides  that  no  corporation  shall  be 
avoided  for  anything  by  them  misdone  or  omitted  to  be  done, 
shows  also  that  their  charters  may  be  avoided  for  things  by  them 
misdone,  or  omitted  to  be  done. 

2.  That  exacting  and  taking  money  by  the  pretended  by-law, 


450          English  Constitutional  Documents 

was  extortion,  and  a  forfeiture  of  the  franchise  of  being  a  cor- 
poration. 

3.  That  the  petition  was  scandalous  and  libellous,  and  the  mak- 
ing it  and  publishing  it  a  forfeiture. 

4.  That  the  act  of  the  common  council  was  the  act  of  the  cor- 
poration. 

5.  That  the  matter  set  forth  in  the  record  did  not  excuse  or 
avoid  those  forfeitures  set  forth  in  the  replication. 

6.  That  the  information  was  well  founded. 

And  gave  judgment,  That  the  franchise  should  be  seized  into 
the  king's  hands,  but  the  entry  thereof  respited  till  the  king's 
pleasure  was  known  in  it.  Justice  Raymond  and  justice  Withens 
declare,  that  they  were  of  the  same  opinion  in  omnibus. 

And  accordingly,  after  entry  made  by  Mr.  Attorney,  That  as 
to  the  issue  joined  to  be  tried  by  the  country ;  as  to  the  claiming 
to  have  and  constitute  sheriffs ;  as  to  the  having  the  mayor  and 
aldermen  to  be  justices  of  the  peace,  and  to  hold  sessions,  '  quod 
ipse  pro  Domino  Rege  ulterius  non  vult  prosequi ; '  Judgment  is 
entered. 


233.    Hales'   Case:    The  Dispensing  Power 

(1686.    Chief  Justice  Herbert.     II  State  Trials,  1302.) 

Chief  Justice.  '  In  the  case  of  Godwin  and  Hales,  wherein 
the  defendant  pleads  a  dispensation  from  the  king,  it  is  doubted, 
whether  or  no  the  king  had  such  a  prerogative?  Truly,  upon  the 
argument  before  us,  it  appeared  as  clear  a  case  as  ever  came 
before  this  court :  but  because  men  fancy  I  know  not  what  diffi- 
culty, when  really  there  is  none,  we  were  willing  to  give  so  much 
countenance  to  the  question  in  the  case,  as  to  take  the  advice  of  all 
the  judges  in  England.  They  were  all  assembled  at  Serjeant's  Inn 
and  this  case  was  put  them,  and  the  great  case  of  the  sheriffs  was 
put;  whether  the  dispensation  in  that  case  were  legal,  because 
upon  that  depended  the  execution  of  all  the  law  of  the  nation? 
And,  I  must  tell  you  that  there  were  then  ten  upon  the  place, 
that  clearly  delivered  their  opinions,  that  the  case  of  the  sher- 
iffs was  good  law,  and  that  all  the  attainders  grounded  upon 
indictments  found  by  juries  returned  by  such  sheriffs,  were  good, 
and  not  erroneous ;  and  consequently,  that  men  need  not  have 
any  fears  or  scruples  about  that  matter.  And  in  the  next  place, 
they  did  clearly  declare,  that  there  was  no  imaginable  difference 


James  IFs  Declaration  of  Indulgence       451 

between  that  case  and  this,  unless  it  were,  that  this  were  the  much 
clearer  case  of  the  two,  and  liable  to  the  fewer  exceptions.  My 
brother  Powell  said,  he  was  inclined  to  be  of  the  same  opinion, 
but  he  would  rather  have  some  more  time  to  consider  of  it ;  but 
he  has  since  sent  by  my  brother  Holloway  to  let  us  know  that  he 
does  concur  with  us.  To  these  eleven  judges,  there  is  one  dis- 
senter, brother  Street,  who  yet  continues  his  opinion,  that  the 
king  cannot  dispense  in  this  case.  But  that  is  the  opinion  of  one 
single  judge,  against  the  opinion  of  eleven  :  we  were  satisfied  in 
our  own  judgments  before,  and  having  the  concurrence  of  eleven 
out  of  twelve,  we  think  we  may  very  well  declare  the  opinion  of 
the  court  to  be,  that  the  king  may  dispense  in  this  case ;  and  the 
judges  go  upon  these  grounds  : 

'  i.  That  the  kings  of  England  are  sovereign  princes. 

*  2.  That  the  laws  of  England  are  the  king's  laws. 

'  3.  That  therefore,  it  is  an  inseparable  prerogative  in  the  kings 
of  England,  to  dispense  with  penal  laws  in  particular  cases,  and 
upon  particular  necessary  reasons. 

'  4.  That  of  those  reasons,  and  those  necessities,  the  king  him- 
self is  sole  judge  :  and  then,  which  is  consequent  upon  all, 

'5.  That  this  is  not  a  trust  invested  in,  or  granted  to  the  king 
by  the  people ;  but  the  ancient  remains  of  the  sovereign  power, 
and  prerogative  of  the  kings  of  England,  which  never  yet  was 
taken  from  them,  nor  can  be.  And  therefore  such  a  dispensation 
being  pleaded  by  the  defendant  in  this  case,  and  such  a  dispen- 
sation appearing  upon  record  to  come,  time  enough  to  save  him 
from  the  forfeiture,  judgment  ought  to  be  given  for  the  defendant, 
'  Quod  quaerens  nil  capiat  per  billam.' ' 


234.    James  II's  Declaration  of  Indulgence 

(1687,  April  4.     G.  and  H.  641-644.) 

IT  having  pleased  Almighty  God  not  only  to  bring  us  to  the 
imperial  crown  of  these  kingdoms  through  the  greatest  diffi- 
culties, but  to  preserve  us  by  a  more  than  ordinary  providence 
upon  the  throne  of  our  royal  ancestors,  there  is  nothing  now  that 
we  so  earnestly  desire  as  to  establish  our  government  on  such  a 
foundation  as  may  make  our  subjects  happy,  and  unite  them  to  us 
by  inclination  as  well  as  duty.  Which  we  think  can  be  done  by  no 


452  English  Constitutional  Documents 

means  so  effectually  as  by  granting  to  them  the  free  exercise  of 
their  religion  for  the  time  to  come,  and  add  that  to  the  perfect 
enjoyment  of  their  property,  which  has  never  been  in  any  case 
invaded  by  us  since  our  coming  to  the  crown.  Which  being  the 
two  things  men  value  most,  shall  ever  be  preserved  in  these  king- 
doms, during  our  reign  over  them,  as  the  truest  methods  of  their 
peace  and  our  glory.  We  cannot  but  heartily  wish,  as  it  will  easily 
be  believed,  that  all  the  people  of  our  dominions  were  members 
of  the  Catholic  Church;  yet  we  humbly  thank  Almighty  God,  it  is 
and  has  of  long  time  been  our  constant  sense  and  opinion  (which 
upon  divers  occasions  we  have  declared)  that  conscience  ought 
not  to  be  constrained  nor  people  forced  in  matters  of  mere  reli- 
gion :  it  has  ever  been  directly  contrary  to  our  inclination,  as  we 
think  it  is  to  the  interest  of  government,  which  it  destroys  by 
spoiling  trade,  depopulating  countries,  and  discouraging  strangers, 
and  finally,  that  it  never  obtained  the  end  for  which  it  was  em- 
ployed. And  in  this  we  are  the  more  confirmed  by  the  reflections 
we  have  made  upon  the  conduct  of  the  four  last  reigns.  For  after 
all  the  frequent  and  pressing  endeavours  that  were  used  in  each 
of  them  to  reduce  this  kingdom  to  an  exact  conformity  in  religion, 
it  is  visible  the  success  has  not  answered  the  design,  and  that  the 
difficulty  is  invincible. 

We  therefore,  out  of  our  princely  care  and  affection  unto  all  our 
Moving  subjects,  that  they  may  live  at  ease  and  quiet,  and  for  the 
increase  of  trade  and  encouragement  of  strangers,  have  thought  fit 
by  virtue  of  our  royal  prerogative  to  issue  forth  this  our  declara- 
tion of  indulgence,  making  no  doubt  of  the  concurrence  of  our 
two  houses  of  parliament  when  we  shall  think  it  convenient  for 
them  to  meet. 

In  the  first  place,  we  do  declare  that  we  will  protect  and  main- 
tain our  archbishops,  bishops,  and  clergy,  and  all  other  our  sub- 
jects of  the  Church  of  England  in  the  free  exercise  of  their 
religion  as  by  law  established,  and  in  the  quiet  and  full  enjoyment 
of  all  their  possessions,  without  any  molestation  or  disturbance 
whatsoever. 

We  do  likewise  declare,  that  it  is  our  royal  will  and  pleasure 
that  from  henceforth  the  execution  of  all  and  all  manner  of  penal 
laws  in  matters  ecclesiastical,  for  not  coming  to  church,  or  not 
receiving  the  Sacrament,  or  for  any  other  nonconformity  to  the 
religion  established,  or  for  or  by  reason  of  the  exercise  of  religion 
in  any  manner  whatsoever,  be  immediately  suspended ;  and  the 
further  execution  of  the  said  penal  laws  and  every  of  them  is 
hereby  suspended. 


James  II 's  Declaration  of  Indulgence       453 

And  to  the  end  that  by  the  liberty  hereby  granted  the  peace 
and  security  of  our  government  in  the  practice  thereof  may  not 
be  endangered,  we  have  thought  fit,  and  do  hereby  straitly  charge 
and  command  all  our  loving  subjects,  that,  as  we  do  freely  give 
them  leave  to  meet  and  serve  God  after  their  own  way  and  man- 
ner, be  it  in  private  houses  or  places  purposely  hired  or  built  for 
that  use,  so  that  they  take  especial  care  that  nothing  be  preached 
or  taught  amongst  them,  which  may  any  way  tend  to  alienate  the 
hearts  of  our  people  from  us  or  our  government ;  and  that  their 
meetings  and  assemblies  be  peaceably,  openly,  and  publicly  held, 
and  all  persons  freely  admitted  to  them ;  and  that  they  do  signify 
and  make  known  to  some  one  or  more  of  the  next  justices  of  the 
peace  what  place  or  places  they  set  apart  for  those  uses ;  and  that 
all  our  subjects  may  enjoy  such  their  religious  assemblies  with 
greater  assurance  and  protection,  we  have  thought  it  requisite, 
and  do  hereby  command,  that  no  disturbance  of  any  kind  be  made 
or  given  unto  them,  under  pain  of  our  displeasure,  and  to  be  fur- 
ther proceeded  against  with  the  utmost  severity. 

And  forasmuch  as  we  are  desirous  to  have  the  benefit  of  the  ser- 
vice of  all  our  loving  subjects,  which  by  the  law  of  nature  is  insep- 
arably annexed  to  and  inherent  in  our  royal  person,  and  that  none 
of  our  subjects  may  for  the  future  be  under  any  discouragement 
or  disability  (who  are  otherwise  well  inclined  and  fit  to  serve  us) 
by  reason  of  some  oaths  or  tests  that  have  been  usually  adminis- 
tered on  such  occasions,  we  do  hereby  further  declare,  that  it  is 
our  royal  will  and  pleasure  that  the  oaths  commonly  called  '  The 
oaths  of  supremacy  and  allegiance,'  and  also  the  several  tests  and 
declarations  mentioned  in  the  acts  of  parliament  made  in  the 
five-and-twentieth  and  thirtieth  years  of  the  reign  of  our  late  royal 
brother,  King  Charles  II,  shall  not  at  any  time  hereafter  be  re- 
quired to  be  taken,  declared,  or  subscribed  by  any  person  or  per- 
sons whatsoever,  who  is  or  shall  be  employed  in  any  office  or  place 
of  trust,  either  civil  or  military,  under  us  or  in  our  government. 
And  we  do  further  declare  it  to  be  our  pleasure  and  intention  from 
time  to  time  hereafter,  to  grant  our  royal  dispensations  under  our 
great  seal  to  all  our  loving  subjects  so  to  be  employed,  who  shall 
not  take  the  said  oaths,  or  subscribe  or  declare  the  said  tests  or 
declarations  in  the  above-mentioned  acts  and  every  of  them. 

And  to  the  end  that  all  our  loving  subjects  may  receive  and 
enjoy  the  full  benefit  and  advantage  of  our  gracious  indulgence 
hereby  intended,  and  may  be  acquitted  and  discharged  from  all 
pains,  penalties,  forfeitures,  and  disabilities  by  them  or  any  of 
them  incurred  or  forfeited,  or  which  they  shall  or  may  at  any  time 


454  English  Constitutional  Documents 

hereafter  be  liable  to,  for  or  by  reason  of  their  nonconformity,  or  the 
exercise  of  their  religion,  and  from  all  suits,  troubles,  or  disturb- 
ances for  the  same  ;  we  do  hereby  give  our  free  and  ample  pardon 
unto  all  nonconformists,  recusants,  and  other  our  loving  subjects, 
for  all  crimes  and  things  by  them  committed  or  done  contrary  to 
the  penal  laws,  formerly  made  relating  to  religion,  and  the  profes- 
sion or  exercise  thereof ;  hereby  declaring  that  this  our  royal 
pardon  and  indemnity  shall  be  as  good  and  effectual  to  all  intents 
and  purposes,  as  if.  every  individual  person  had  been  therein 
particularly  named,  or  had  particular  pardons  under  our  great  seal, 
which  we  do  likewise  declare  shall  from  time  to  time  be  granted 
unto  any  person  or  persons  desiring  the  same  :  willing  and  requir- 
ing our  judges,  justices,  and  other  officers  to  take  notice  of  and 
obey  our  royal  will  and  pleasure  hereinbefore  declared. 

And  although  the  freedom  and  assurance  we  have  hereby  given 
in  relation  to  religion  and  property  might  be  sufficient  to  remove 
from  the  minds  of  our  loving  subjects  all  fears  and  jealousies  in 
relation  to  either,  yet  we  have  thought  fit  further  to  declare  that 
we  will  maintain  them  in  all  their  properties  and  possessions,  as 
well  of  church  and  abbey  lands,  as  in  any  other  their  lands  and 
properties  whatsoever. 

Given  at  our  Court  at  Whitehall  the  fourth  day  of  April, 
1687,  in  the  third  year  of  our  reign. 


235.    Confirmation  of  the  Convention 
Parliament 

(l68f,  Feb.  20.     I  William  and  Mary,  c.  i.     6  S.  R.  23.) 

~C*OR  preventing  all  doubts  and  scruples  which  may  in  any  wise 
A  arise  concerning  the  meeting,  sitting  and  proceeding  of  this 
present  parliament :  be  it  declared  and  enacted  by  the  king 
and  queen's  most  excellent  majesties,  by  and  with  the  advice 
and  consent  of  the  lords  spiritual  and  temporal  and  commons 
now  assembled,  and  by  authority  of  the  same  : 

II.  That  the  lords  spiritual  and  temporal  and  commons  convened 
at  Westminster  the  two  and  twentieth  day  of  January  in  the  year  of 
our  Lord  one  thousand  six  hundred  eighty  eight,  and  there 
sitting  on  the  thirteenth  day  of  February  following,  are  the 
two  houses  of  parliament,  and  so  shall  be  and  are  hereby  enacted 
and  adjudged  to  be,  to  all  intents,  constructions  and  purposes 
whatsoever,  notwithstanding  any  want  of  writ  or  writs  of  summons 


Confirmation  of  the  Convention  Parliament     455 

or  any  other  defect  of  form  or  default  whatsoever,  as  if  they  had 
been  summoned  according  to  the  usual  form ;  and  that  this  present 
act  and  all  other  acts,  to  which  the  royal  assent  shall  at  any  time 
be  given  before  the  next  prorogation  after  the  said  thirteenth  of 
February  shall  be  understood,  taken  and  adjudged  in  law  to  begin 
and  commence  upon  the  said  thirteenth  of  February,  on  which 
day  their  said  majesties  at  the  request  and  by  the  advice  of  the 
lords  and  commons  did  accept  the  crown  and  royal  dignity  of 
king  and  queen  of  England,  France  and  Ireland,  and  the  domin- 
ions and  territories  thereunto  belonging. 

III.  And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  that  the 
act  made  in  the  thirtieth  year  of  King  Charles  the  Second,  entitled, 
An  Act  for  the  more  effectual  preserving  the  King's  Person  and 
Government  by  disabling  of  Papists  from  sitting  in  either  House 
of  Parliament,  and  all  other  acts  of  parliament,  as  to  so  much  of 
the  said   act    or   acts    only    as    concerns    the   taking   the   oaths 
of  supremacy  and  allegiance  or  either  of  them,  in  the  said  act  or 
acts  respectively  mentioned,  by  any  member  or  members  of  either 
house  of  parliament,  with  relation  to  their  sitting  and  voting  in 
parliament,  shall  be  and  are  hereby  repealed  to  all  intents  and 
purposes  ;  anything  in  the  said  recited  act  or  acts  to  the  contrary 
notwithstanding. 

IV.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  that  the  taking  the  oaths  herein 
after  mentioned  and  the  making,  subscribing  and  repeating  the 
declaration  in  the  said  act  of  the  thirtieth  year  of  King  Charles  the 
Second  mentioned,  by  every  member  of   either  house    of   this 
present  parliament  from  and  after  the  first  day  of  March  next 
ensuing,  in  such  manner  as  the  taking  the  said  oaths  of  allegiance 
and  supremacy  and  the  making,  subscribing    and  repeating  the 
said  declaration  in  the  said  last  mentioned  act  are  required,  shall 
be  good  and  effectual  to  all  intents  and  purposes,  as  if  the  said 
oaths  of  allegiance  and  supremacy  had  been  taken  and  the  said  dec- 
laration had  been  made,  subscribed  and  repeated  in  such  manner 
and  at  such  time  as  by  the  said  act  or  acts,  or  any  of  them,  they 
are  required ;  and  that  in  all  future  parliaments  the  oaths  herein 
after  mentioned  and  the  declaration  in  the  said  act  made  in  the 
thirtieth  year  of  King  Charles  the   Second  mentioned,  shall   be 
taken,  made,  subscribed  and  repeated  by  every  member  of  either 
house  of  parliament  within  the  time,  and  in  the  same  manner  and 
form,  and  under  the  penalties  and  disabilities,  as  the  said  oaths  of 
allegiance  and  supremacy  and  the  said    declaration  by  the  said 
act  of  the  thirtieth  year  of  King  Charles  the  Second  are  limited, 
ordained  and  appointed  to  be  taken,  made,  subscribed  and  re- 


456  English  Constitutional  Documents 

peated,  and  not  at  any  other  time  or  in  any  other  manner,  to 
enable  them  to  sit  and  vote  in  parliament ;  anything  in  the  said  act 
or  acts  or  any  of  them  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding. 

V.  And   it  is   hereby   further  enacted   and   declared   by   the 
authority  aforesaid,  that  the  oaths  above  appointed  by  this  act  to 
be  taken  in  the  stead  and  place  of  the  oaths  of  allegiance  and 
supremacy,  shall  be  in  the  words  following  and  no  other  : 

VI.  '  I,  A.  B.,  do  sincerely  promise  and  swear,  that  I  will  be 
faithful  and  bear  true  allegiance  to  their  majesties  King  William 
and  Queen  Mary,  so  help  me  God.' 

VII.  '  I,  A.  B.,  do  swear,  that  I  do  from  my  heart  abhor,  detest  and 
abjure  as  impious  and  heretical,  that  damnable  doctrine  and  posi- 
tion, that  princes  excommunicated  or  deprived  by  the  pope  or  any 
authority  of  the  see  of  Rome  may  be  deposed  or  murdered  by 
their  subjects  or  any  other  whatsoever ;  and  I  do  declare,  that  no  for- 
eign prince,  person,  prelate,  state  or  potentate  hath  or  ought  to 
have  any  power,  jurisdiction,  superiority,  preeminence  or  authority, 
ecclesiastical  or  spiritual,  within  this  realm,  so  help  me  God.' 

VIII.  Provided  always,  and  be  it  declared,  that  this  present  par- 
liament may  be  dissolved  after  the  usual  manner,  as  if  the  same 
had  been  summoned  and  called  by  writ. 


236.    The  Civil  List 

(1689,  March  20  and  April  25.     Cobbett's  Parliamentary  History,  v.  193,  235.) 

20  MARCH:  Resolved,  nemine  contradicente,  "That  it  is  the 
opinion  of  this  committee  [of  the  whole  house],  that  there  be 
a  revenue  of  £  1,200,000  per  annum  settled  upon  their  majes- 
ties, for  the  constant  necessary  charge  of  supporting  the  Crown 
in  time  of  peace."  Which  was  agreed  to  by  the  house. 

25  April:  Resolved,  "That,  out  of  the  public  revenue,  for  the 
charge  of  the  civil  government  (including  therein  what  is  to 
be  allowed  her  royal  majesty  the  queen-regent,  the  queen- 
dowager,  the  prince  and  princess  of  Denmark,  and  the  marshal 
Schomberg)  there  be  allowed  the  sum  of  ;£  600,000  per  annum. 
And,  that  £  700,000  be  given  towards  the  occasions  and  charge 
of  the  navy." 


First  Mutiny  Act  457 

237.    First  Mutiny  Act 

(1689.     I  William  and  Mary,  c.  5.    6  £  J?.  55.) 

WHEREAS  the  raising  or  keeping  a  standing  army  within 
this  kingdom  in  time  of  peace,  unless  it  be  with  consent  of 
parliament,  is  against  law;  and  whereas  it  is  judged  necessary  by 
their  majesties  and  this  present  parliament  that  during  this  time 
of  danger  several  of  the  forces  which  are  now  on  foot  should  be 
continued,  and  others  raised,  for  the  safety  of  the  kingdom,  for  the 
common  defence  of  the  Protestant  religion  and  for  the  reducing 
of  Ireland; 

And  whereas  no  man  may  be  forejudged  of  life  or  limb,  or  sub- 
jected to  any  kind  of  punishment,  by  martial  law  or  in  any  other 
manner,  than  by  the  judgment  of  his  peers  and  according  to  the 
known  and  established  laws  of  this  realm,  yet  nevertheless  it  being 
requisite  for  retaining  such  forces  as  are  or  shall  be  raised  during 
this  exigence  of  affairs  in  their  duty,  an  exact  discipline  be 
observed,  and  that  soldiers  who  shall  mutiny  or  stir  up  sedition 
or  shall  desert  their  majesties'  service  be  brought  to  a  more 
exemplary  and  speedy  punishment  than  the  usual  forms  of  law 
will  allow : 

II.  Be  it  therefore  enacted  by  the  king  and  queen's  most 
excellent  majesties,  by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the 
lords  spiritual  and  temporal  and  commons  in  this  present  parlia- 
ment assembled,  and  by  authority  of  the  same,  that,  from  and  after 
the  twelfth  day  of  April  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  six 
hundred  eighty  nine,  every  person  being  in  their  majesties'  ser- 
vice in  the  army  and  being  mustered  and  in  pay  as  an  officer  or 
soldier,  who  shall  at  any  time  before  the  tenth  day  of  November 
in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  six  hundred  eighty  nine 
excite,  cause  or  join  in  any  mutiny  or  sedition  in  the  army,  or 
shall  desert  their  majesties'  service  in  the  army,  shall  suffer  death 
or  such  other  punishment,  as  by  a  court  martial  shall  be  inflicted. 

III.  And  it  is  hereby  further  enacted  and  declared,  that  their 
majesties,  or  the  general  of  their  army  for  the  time  being,  may  by 
virtue  of  this  act  have  full  power  and  authority  to  grant  commis- 
sions to  any  lieutenants-general  or  other  officers  not  under  the 
degree  of  colonels,  from  time  to  time,  to  call  and  assemble  courts 
martial  for  punishing  such  offences  as  aforesaid. 


458  English  Constitutional  Documents 

IV.  And  it  is  hereby  further  enacted  and  declared,  that  no 
court  martial  which  shall  have  power  to  inflict  any  punishment 
by  virtue  of  this  act  for  the  offences  aforesaid  shall  consist  of 
fewer  than  thirteen,  whereof  none  to  be  under  the  degree  of 
captains. 

V.  Provided  always,  that  no  field  officer  be  tried  by  other  than 
field  officers,  and  that  such  court  martial  shall  have  power  and 
authority  to  administer  an  oath  to  any  witness,  in  order  to  the 
examination  or  trial  of  the  offences  aforesaid. 

VI.  Provided  always,  that  nothing  in  this  act  contained  shall 
extend  or  be  construed  to  exempt  any  officer  or  soldier  whatsoever 
from  the  ordinary  process  of  law. 

VII.  Provided  always,  that  this  act  or  anything  therein  con- 
tained shall  not  extend  or  be  any  wise  construed  to  extend  to  or 
concern  any  the  militia  forces  of  this  kingdom. 

VIII.  Provided  also,  that  this  act  shall  continue  and  be  in 
force  until  the  said  tenth  day  of  November  in  the  said  year  of 
our  Lord  one  thousand  six  hundred  eighty  nine,  and  no  longer. 

IX.  Provided  always,  and  be  it  enacted,  that  in  all  trials  of 
offenders  by  courts  martial  to  be  held  by  virtue  of  this  act,  where 
the  offence  may  be  punished  by  death,  every  officer  present  at 
such  trial  before  any  proceeding  be  had  thereupon  shall  take  an 
oath  upon  the  evangelists  before  the  court  (and  the  judge  advo- 
cate or  his  deputy  shall  and  are  hereby  respectively  authorized 
to  administer  the  same)  in  these  words  that  is  to  say : 

"  You  shall  well  and  truly  try  and  determine  according  to  your 
evidence  the  matter  now  before  you  between  our  sovereign  lord 
and  lady  the  king  and  queen's  majesties  and  the  prisoner  to  be 
tried.  So  help  you  God." 

X.  And  no  sentence  of   death  shall  be   given  against  any 
offender  in  such  case  by  any  court  martial  unless  nine  of  thirteen 
officers  present  shall  concur  therein,  and  if  there  be  a  greater  num- 
ber of  officers  present  then  the  judgment  shall  pass  by  the  con- 
currence of  the  greater  part  of  them  so  sworn  and  not  otherwise, 
and  no  proceedings,  trial  or  sentence  of  death  shall  be  had  or 
given  against  any  offender,  but  between  the  hours  of  eight  in  the 
morning  and  one  in  the  afternoon. 


The  Toleration  Act  459 


238.    The  Toleration  Act 

(1689,  May  24.     I  William  and  Mary,  c.  18.     6  S.  R.  74.    The  whole 
reprinted  in  G.  and  H.  654-664.) 

"CXDRASMUCH  as  some  ease  to  scrupulous  consciences  in  the 
•F  exercise  of  religion  may  be  an  effectual  means  to  unite 
Their  Majesties'  Protestant  subjects  in  interest  and  affection: 

II.  Be  it  enacted  by  the  king  and  queen' s  most  excellent  Majes- 
ties, by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  lords  spiritual  and 
temporal  and  the  commons  in  this  present  parliament  assembled, 
and  by  the  authority  of  the  same,  that  neither  the  statute  made  in 
the  three  and  twentieth  year  of  the  reign  of  the  late  Queen  Eliza- 
beth, entitled,  An  Act  to  Retain  the  Queen's  Majesty's  Subjects  in 
their  due  Obedience;  nor  the  statute  made  in  the  twenty  ninth  year 
of  the  said  queen,  entitled,  An  Act  for  the  more  speedy  and  due 
Execution  of  certain  Branches  of  the  Statute  made  in  the  three 
and  twentieth  year  of  the  Queen's  Majesty's  Reign,  viz.  the  afore- 
said act ;  nor  that  branch  or  clause  of  a  statute  made  in  the  first 
year  of  the  reign  of  the  said  queen,  entitled,  An  Act  for  [the]  Uni- 
formity of-  Common  Prayer  and  Service  in  the  Church  and  Admin- 
istration of  the  Sacraments,  whereby  all  persons  having  no  lawful 
or  reasonable  excuse  to  be  absent  are  required  to  resort  to  their 
parish  church  or  chapel  or  some  usual  place  where  the  common 
prayer  shall  be  used  upon  pain  of  punishment  by  the  censures  of 
the  church  and  also  upon  pain  that  every  person  so  offending  shall 
forfeit  for  every  such  offence  twelve  pence;  nor  the  statute  made 
in  the  third  year  of  the  reign  of  the  late  King  James  the  First, 
entitled,  An  Act  for  the  better  Discovering  and  Repressing  Popish 
Recusants ;  nor  that  other  statute  made  in  the  same  year,  entitled, 
An  Act  to  Prevent  and  Avoid  Dangers  which  may  grow  by  Popish 
Recusants;  nor  any  other  law  or  statute  of  this  realm  made  against 
papists  or  popish  recusants,  except  the  statute  made  in  the  five 
and  twentieth  year  of  King  Charles  the  Second,  entitled,  An  Act  for 
Preventing  Dangers  which  may  happen  from  Popish  Recusants; 
and  except  also  the  statute  made  in  the  thirtieth  year  of  the  said 
King  Charles  the  Second,  entitled,  An  Act  for  the  more  effectual 
preserving  the  King's  Person  and  Government  by  disabling 
Papists  from  sitting  in  either  House  of  Parliament;  shall  be  con- 
strued to  extend  to  any  person  or  persons  dissenting  from  the 
Church  of  England,  that  shall  take  the  oaths  mentioned  in  a  statute 
made  this  present  parliament,  entitled,  An  Act  for  removing  and 


460          English  Constitutional  Documents 

preventing  all  Questions  and  Disputes  concerning  the  assembling 
and  sitting  of  this  present  Parliament;  and  shall  make  and  sub- 
scribe the  declaration  mentioned  in  a  statute  made  in  the  thirtieth 
year  of  King  Charles  the  Second,  entitled,  An  Act  to  prevent  Pa- 
pists from  sitting  in  either  House  of  Parliament,  which  oaths  and 
declaration  the  justices  of  peace  at  the  general  sessions  of  the 
peace  to  be  held  for  the  county  or  place,  where  such  person  shall 
live,  are  hereby  required  to  tender  and  administer  to  such  persons 
as  shall  offer  themselves  to  take,  make  and  subscribe  the  same 
and  thereof  to  keep  a  register;  and  likewise  none  of  the  persons 
aforesaid  shall  give  or  pay  as  any  fee  or  reward  to  any  officer  or 
officers  belonging  to  the  court  aforesaid  above  the  sum  of  six 
pence,  nor  that  more  than  once,  for  his  or  their  entry  of  his  taking 
the  said  oaths,  and  making  and  subscribing  the  said  declaration 
nor  above  the  further  sum  of  six  pence  for  any  certificate  of  the 
same  to  be  made  out  and  signed  by  the  officer  or  officers  of  the 
said  court. 

III.  And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  that 
all  and  every  person  and  persons  already  convicted,  or  prosecuted 
in  order  to  conviction,  of  recusancy  by  indictment,  information, 
action  of  debt  or  otherwise  grounded  upon  the  aforesaid  statutes 
or  any  of  them,  that  shall  take  the  said  oaths  mentioned  in  the 
said  statute  made  this  present  parliament,  and  make  and  subscribe 
the  declaration  aforesaid,  in  the  court  of  exchequer  or  assizes  or 
general  or  quarter  sessions  to  be  held  for  the  county  where  such 
person  lives,  and  to  be  thence  respectively  certified  into  the 
exchequer,  shall  be  thenceforth  exempted  and  discharged  from 
all  the  penalties,  seizures,  forfeitures,  judgments  and  executions 
incurred  by  force  of  any  the  aforesaid  statutes  without  any  com- 
position, fee  or  further  charge  whatsoever. 

IV.  And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  that 
all  and  every  such  person  and  persons  that  shall  as  aforesaid  take 
the  said  oaths,  and  make  and  subscribe  the  declaration  aforesaid, 
shall  not  be  liable  to  any  pains,  penalties  or  forfeitures  mentioned 
in  an  act  made  in  the  five  and  thirtieth  year  of  the  reign  of  the 
late  Queen  Elizabeth,  entitled,  An  Act   to  retain  the  Queen's 
Majesty's  Subjects  in  their  due  Obedience;  nor  in  an  act  made 
the  two  and  twentieth  year  of  the  reign  of  the  late  King  Charles 
the  Second,  entitled,  An  Act  to  prevent  and  suppress  seditious 
Conventicles;  nor  shall  any  of  the  said  persons  be  prosecuted  in 
any  ecclesiastical  court  for  or  by  reason  of  their  nonconforming 
to  the  Church  of  England. 

V.  Provided  always,  and  be  it  enacted  by  the  authority  afore- 


The  Toleration  Act  461 

said,  that  if  any  assembly  of  persons  dissenting  from  the  Church 
of  England  shall  be  had  in  any  place  for  religious  worship  with 
the  doors  locked,  barred  or  bolted  during  any  time  of  such  meet- 
ing together,  all  and  every  person  or  persons  that  shall  come  to 
and  be  at  such  meeting  shall  not  receive  any  benefit  from  this 
law,  but  be  liable  to  all  the  pains  and  penalties  of  all  the  aforesaid 
laws  recited  in  this  act  for  such  their  meeting,  notwithstanding 
his  taking  the  oaths  and  his  making  and  subscribing  the  declara- 
tion aforesaid. 

VI.  Provided  always,  that  nothing  herein  contained  shall  be 
construed  to  exempt  any  of  the  persons  aforesaid  from  paying  of 
tithes  or  other  parochial  duties  or  any  other  duties  to  the  church 
or  minister,  nor  from  any  prosecution  in  any  ecclesiastical  court 
or  elsewhere  for  the  same. 


VIII.  And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  that 
no  person  dissenting  from  the  Church  of  England  in  holy  orders 
or  pretended  holy  orders  or  pretending  to  holy  orders,  nor  any 
preacher  or  teacher  of  any  congregation  of  dissenting  Protestants, 
that  shall  make  and  subscribe  the  declaration  aforesaid  and  take 
the  said  oaths  at  the  general  or  quarter  sessions  of  the  peace  to 
be  held  for  the  county,  town,  parts  or  division  where  such  person 
lives,  which  court  is  hereby  impowered  to  administer  the  same, 
and  shall  also  declare  his  approbation  of  and  subscribe  the  arti- 
cles of  religion  mentioned  in  the  statute  made  in  the  thirteenth 
year  of  the  reign  of  the  late  Queen  Elizabeth,  except  the  thirty- 
fourth,  thirty-fifth  and  thirty-sixth  and  these  words  of  the  twen- 
tieth article,  viz.  *  *  *  the  Church  hath  power  to  decree  rights  or 
ceremonies,  and  authority  in  controversies  of  faith  and  yet  *  *  *, 
shall  be  liable  to  any  of  the  pains  or  penalties  mentioned  in  an 
act  made  in  the  seventeenth  year  of  the  reign  of  King  Charles  the 
Second,  entitled,  An  Act  for  restraining  Nonconformists  from 
inhabiting  in  Corporations;  nor  the  penalties  mentioned  in  the 
aforesaid  act,  made  in  the  two  and  twentieth  year  of  his  said  late 
majesty's  reign,  for  or  by  reason  of  such  persons  preaching  at  any 
meeting  for  the  exercise  of  religion,  nor  to  the  penalty  of  one 
hundred  pounds  mentioned  in  an  act  made  in  the  thirteenth  and 
fourteenth  of  King  Charles  the  Second,  entitled,  An  Act  for  the 
Uniformity  of  Public  Prayers  and  Administration  of  Sacraments 
aud  other  Rites  and  Ceremonies,  and  for  establishing  the  Form  of 
making,  ordaining  and  consecrating  of  Bishops,  Priests  and 
Deacons  in  the  Church  of  England,  for  officiating  in  any  con- 


462  English  Constitutional  Documents 

gregation  for  the  exercise  of  religion  permitted  and  allowed  by 
this  act.  *  *  * 


XVI.  Provided  always,  and  it  is  the  true  intent  and  meaning 
of  this  act,  that  all  the  laws  made  and  provided  for  the  frequent- 
ing of  divine  service  on  the  Lord's  day,  commonly  called  Sunday, 
shall  be  still  in  force  and  executed  against  all  persons  that  offend 
against  the  said  laws,  except  such  persons  come  to  some  congre- 
gation or  assembly  of  religious  worship  allowed  or  permitted  by 
this  act. 

XVII.  Provided  always,  and   be   it   further  enacted  by  the 
authority  aforesaid,  that  neither  this  act  nor  any  clause,  article  or 
thing  herein  contained  shall  extend  or  be  construed  to  extend  to 
give  any  ease,  benefit  or  advantage  to  any  papist  or  popish 
recusant  whatsoever,  or  any  person  that  shall  deny  in  his  preach- 
ing or  writing  the  doctrine  of  the  Blessed  Trinity,  as  it  is  declared 
in  the  aforesaid  articles  of  religion. 

XIX.  Provided  always,  that  no  congregation  or  assembly  for 
religious  worship  shall  be  permitted  or  allowed  by  this  act,  until 
the  place  of  such  meeting  shall  be  certified  to  the  bishop  of  the 
diocese,  or  to  the  arch-deacon  of  that  arch-deaconry,  or  to  the 
justices  of  the  peace  at  the  general  or  quarter  sessions  of  the  peace 
for  the  county,  city  or  place  in  which  such  meeting  shall  be  held, 
and  registered  in  the  said  bishop's  or  arch-deacon's  court  respec- 
tively, or  recorded  at  the  said  general  or  quarter  sessions;  the 
register  or  clerk  of  the  peace  whereof  respectively  is  hereby 
required  to  register  the  same,  and  to  give  certificate  thereof  to- 
such  person  as  shall  demand  the  same,  for  which  there  shall  be  no 
greater  fee  nor  reward  taken  than  the  sum  of  six  pence. 


239.    The  Bill   of  Rights 

(1689,  December  16.     I  William  and  Mary,  sess.  2,  c.  2  (or  c.  36).    6  S.  R. 
142.     Stubbs,  Select  Charters,  523-528.     G.  and  H.  645-654.) 

WHEREAS  the  lords  spiritual  and  temporal  and  commons 
assembled  at  Westminster  lawfully,  fully  and  freely  repre- 
senting all  the  estates  of  the  people  of  this  realm,  did  upon  the 
thirteenth  day  of  February  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand 
six  hundred  eighty-eight,  present  unto  Their  Majesties,  then  called 


The  Bill  of  Rights  463 

and  known  by  the  names  and  style  of  William  and  Mary,  prince 
and  princess  of  Orange,  being  present  in  their  proper  persons,  a 
certain  declaration  in  writing  made  by  the  said  lords  and  commons 
in  the  words  following  viz. : 

Whereas  the  late  king  James  the  Second  by  the  assistance  of 
divers  evil  counsellors,  judges  and  ministers  employed  by  him  did 
endeavour  to  subvert  and  extirpate  the  Protestant  religion  and  the 
laws  and  liberties  of  this  kingdom. 

By  assuming  and  exercising  a  power  of  dispensing  with  and 
suspending  of  laws,  and  the  execution  of  laws,  without  consent  of 
parliament. 

By  committing  and  prosecuting  divers  worthy  prelates  for 
humbly  petitioning  to  be  excused  from  concurring  to  the  said 
assumed  power. 

By  issuing  and  causing  to  be  executed  a  commission  under  the 
great  seal  for  erecting  a  court,  called  the  court  of  commissioners 
for  ecclesiastical  causes. 

By  levying  money  for  and  to  the  use  of  the  crown,  by  pretence 
of  prerogative,  for  other  time  and  in  other  manner  than  the  same 
was  granted  by  parliament. 

By  raising  and  keeping  a  standing  army  within  this  kingdom 
in  time  of  peace,  without  consent  of  parliament,  and  quartering 
of  soldiers  contrary  to  law. 

By  causing  several  good  subjects  being  Protestants  to  be  dis- 
armed, at  the  same  time  when  papists  were  both  armed  and 
employed,  contrary  to  law. 

By  violating  the  freedom  of  election  of  members  to  serve  in 
parliament. 

By  prosecutions  in  the  court  of  king's  bench  for  matters  and 
causes  cognizable  only  in  parliament,  and  by  divers  other  arbitrary 
and  illegal  courses. 

And  whereas  of  late  years  partial,  corrupt  and  unqualified  per- 
sons have  been  returned  and  served  on  juries  in  trials,  and  par- 
ticularly divers  jurors  in  trials  for  high  treason,  which  were  not 
freeholders. 

And  excessive  bail  hath  been  required  of  persons  committed 
in  criminal  cases,  to  elude  the  benefit  of  the  laws  made  for  the 
liberty  of  the  subjects. 

And  excessive  fines  have  been  imposed. 

And  illegal  and  cruel  punishments  have  been  inflicted. 

And  several  grants  and  promises  made  of  fines  and  forfeitures 
before  any  conviction  or  judgment  against  the  persons  upon 
whom  the  same  were  to  be  levied. 


464  English  Constitutional  Documents 

All  which  are  utterly  and  directly  contrary  to  the  known  laws 
and  statutes  and  freedom  of  this  realm. 

And  whereas  the  said  late  king  James  the  Second  having  abdi- 
cated the  government  and  the  throne  being  thereby  vacant,  His 
Highness  the  prince  of  Orange  (whom  it  hath  pleased  Almighty 
God  to  make  the  glorious  instrument  of  delivering  this  kingdom 
from  popery  and  arbitrary  power)  did  (by  the  advice  of  the  lords 
spiritual  and  temporal  and  divers  principal  persons  of  the  com- 
mons) cause  letters  to  be  written  to  the  lords  spiritual  and  tempo- 
ral, being  Protestants;  and  other  letters  to  the  several  counties, 
cities,  universities,  boroughs  and  Cinque  ports  for  the  choosing 
of  such  persons  to  represent  them,  as  were  of  right  to  be  sent  to 
parliament,  to  meet  and  sit  at  Westminster  upon  the  two  and 
twentieth  day  of  January  in  this  year  one  thousand  six  hundred 
eighty  and  eight,  in  order  to  such  an  establishment  as  that  their 
religion,  laws  and  liberties  might  not  again  be  in  danger  of  being 
subverted;  upon  which  letters  elections  having  been  accordingly 
made, 

And  thereupon  the  said  lords  spiritual  and  temporal  and  com- 
mons pursuant  to  their  respective  letters  and  elections  being  now 
assembled  in  a  full  and  free  representative  of  this  nation,  taking 
into  their  most  serious  consideration  the  best  means  for  attaining 
the  ends  aforesaid,  do  in  the  first  place  (as  their  ancestors  in  like 
case  have  usually  done)  for  the  vindicating  and  asserting  their 
ancient  rights  and  liberties,  declare : 

That  the  pretended  power  of  suspending  of  laws  or  the  execu- 
tion of  laws  by  regal  authority  without  consent  of  parliament  is 
illegal. 

That  the  pretended  power  of  dispensing  with  laws  or  the 
execution  of  laws  by  regal  authority  as  it  hath  been  assumed  and 
exercised  of  late  is  illegal. 

That  the  commission  for  erecting  the  late  court  of  commis- 
sioners for  ecclesiastical  causes  and  all  other  commissions  and 
courts  of  like  nature  are  illegal  and  pernicious. 

That  the  levying  money  for  or  to  the  use  of  the  crown  by  pre- 
tence of  prerogative  without  grant  of  parliament  for  a  longer  time 
or  in  other  manner  than  the  same  is  or  shall  be  granted  is  illegal. 

That  it  is  the  right  of  the  subjects  to  petition  the  king  and 
all  commitments  and  prosecutions  for  such  petitioning  are 
illegal. 

That  the  raising  or  keeping  a  standing  army  within  the  king- 
dom in  time  of  peace  unless  it  be  with  consent  of  parliament  is 
against  law. 


The  Bill  of  Rights  465 

That  the  subjects  which  are  Protestants  may  have  arms  for 
their  defence  suitable  to  their  conditions  and  as  allowed  by  law. 

That  election  of  members  of  parliament  ought  to  be  free. 

That  the  freedom  of  speech  and  debates  or  proceedings  in  par- 
liament ought  not  to  be  impeached  or  questioned  in  any  court 
or  place  out  of  parliament. 

That  excessive  bail  ought  not  to  be  required  nor  excessive  fines 
imposed  nor  cruel  and  unusual  punishments  inflicted. 

That  jurors  ought  to  be  duly  impanelled  and  returned  and 
jurors  which  pass  upon  men  in  trials  for  high  treason  ought  to  be 
freeholders. 

That  all  grants  and  promises  of  fines  and  forfeitures  of  par- 
ticular persons  before  conviction  are  illegal  and  void. 

And  that  for  redress  of  all  grievances  and  for  the  amending, 
strengthening  and  preserving  of  the  laws  parliaments  ought  to  be 
held  frequently. 

And  they  do  claim,  demand  and  insist  upon  all  and  singular 
the  premises  as  their  undoubted  rights  and  liberties  and  that  no 
declarations,  judgments,  doings  or  proceedings  to  the  prejudice 
of  the  people  in  any  of  the  said  premises  ought  in  any  wise  to  be 
drawn  hereafter  into  consequence  or  example.  To  which  demand 
of  their  rights  they  are  particularly  encouraged  by  the  declaration 
of  His  Highness  the  prince  of  Orange  as  being  the  only  means 
for  obtaining  a  full  redress  and  remedy  therein.  Having  there- 
fore an  entire  confidence  that  His  said  Highness  the  prince  of 
Orange  will  perfect  the  deliverance  so  far  advanced  by  him,  and 
will  still  preserve  them  from  the  violation  of  their  rights,  which 
they  have  here  asserted,  and  from  all  other  attempts  upon  their 
religion,  rights  and  liberties,  the  said  lords  spiritual  and  tem- 
poral and  commons  assembled  at  Westminster  do  resolve,  that 
William  and  Mary,  prince  and  princess  of  Orange,  be  and  be 
declared  king  and  queen  of  England,  France  and  Ireland  and 
the  dominions  thereunto  belonging,  to  hold  the  crown  and  royal 
dignity  of  the  said  kingdoms  and  dominions  to  them  the  said 
prince  and  princess  during  their  lives  and  the  life  of  the  survivor 
of  them;  and  that  the  sole  and  full  exercise  of  the  regal  power  be 
only  in  and  executed  by  the  said  prince  of  Orange  in  the  names 
of  the  said  prince  and  princess  during  their  joint  lives;  and  after 
their  deceases  the  said  crown  and  royal  dignity  of  the  said  king- 
doms and  dominions  to  be  to  the  heirs  of  the  body  of  the  said 
princess;  and  for  default  of  such  issue  to  the  princess  Anne  of 
Denmark  and  the  heirs  of  her  body;  and  for  default  of  such  issue 
to  the  heirs  of  the  body  of  the  said  prince  of  Orange.  And  the 


466  English  Constitutional  Documents 

lords  spiritual  and  temporal  and  commons  do  pray  the  said  prince 
and  princess  to  accept  the  same  accordingly.  And  that  the 
oaths  hereafter  mentioned  to  be  taken  by  all  persons  of  whom 
the  oaths  of  allegiance  and  supremacy  might  be  required  by  law 
instead  of  them;  and  that  the  said  oaths  of  allegiance  and 
supremacy  be  abrogated. 

"  I,  A.  B.,  do  sincerely  promise  and  swear,  that  I  will  be  faithful 
and  bear  true  allegiance  to  Their  Majesties  King  William  and 
Queen  Mary." 

"I,  A.  B.,  do  swear,  that  I  do  from  my  heart  abhor,  detest  and 
abjure  as  impious  and  heretical  this  damnable  doctrine  and  posi- 
tion, that  princes  excommunicated  or  deprived  by  the  pope  or 
any  authority  of  the  see  of  Rome  may  be  deposed  or  murdered 
by  their  subjects  or  any  other  whatsoever.  And  I  do  declare 
that  no  foreign  prince,  person,  prelate,  state  or  potentate  hath  or 
ought  to  have  any  jurisdiction,  power,  superiority,  preeminence 
or  authority,  ecclesiastical  or  spiritual,  within  this  realm.  So  help 
me  God." 

Upon  which  Their  said  Majesties  did  accept  the  crown  and 
royal  dignity  of  the  kingdoms  of  England,  France  and  Ireland 
and  the  dominions  thereunto  belonging,  according  to  the  resolu- 
tion and  desire  of  the  said  lords  and  commons,  contained  in  the 
said  declaration.  And  thereupon  Their  Majesties  were  pleased, 
that  the  said  lords  spiritual  and  temporal  and  commons  being 
the  two  houses  of  parliament  should  continue  to  sit,  and  with 
Their  Majesties'  royal  concurrence  make  effectual  provision  for 
the  settlement  of  the  religion,  laws  and  liberties  of  this  kingdom, 
so  that  the  same  for  the  future  might  not  be  in  danger  again  of 
being  subverted,  to  which  the  lords  spiritual  and  temporal  and 
commons  did  agree  and  proceed  to  act  accordingly.  Now  in 
pursuance  of  the  premises,  the  lords  spiritual  and  temporal  and 
commons  in  parliament  assembled,  for  the  ratifying,  confirming 
and  establishing  the  said  declaration  and  the  articles,  clauses, 
matters  and  things  therein  contained,  by  the  force  of  a  law  made 
in  due  form  by  authority  of  parliament,  do  pray  that  it  may  be 
declared  and. enacted,  that  all  and  singular  the  rights  and  liberties 
asserted  and  claimed  in  the  said  declaration  are  the  true,  ancient 
and  indubitable  rights  and  liberties  of  the  people  of  this  king- 
dom, and  so  shall  be  esteemed,  allowed,  adjudged,  deemed  and 
taken  to  be,  and  that  all  and  every  the  particulars  aforesaid  shall 
be  firmly  and  strictly  holden  and  observed,  as  they  are  expressed 
in  the  said  declaration:  and  all  officers  and  ministers  whatsoever 
shall  serve  Their  Majesties  and  their  successors  according  to  the 


The  Bill  of  Rights  467 

same  in  all  times  to  come.  And  the  said  lords  spiritual  and 
temporal  and  commons,  seriously  considering  how  it  hath  pleased 
Almighty  God  in  His  marvellous  providence  and  merciful  good- 
ness to  this  nation  to  provide  and  preserve  Their  said  Majesties' 
royal  persons  most  happily  to  reign  over  us  upon  the  throne  of 
their  ancestors,  for  which  they  render  unto  Him  from  the  bottom 
of  their  hearts  their  humblest  thanks  and  praises,  do  truly,  firmly, 
assuredly  and  in  the  sincerity  of  their  hearts  think,  and  do 
hereby  humbly  recognize,  acknowledge  and  declare,  that  King 
James  the  Second  having  abdicated  the  government  and  Their 
Majesties  having  accepted  the  crown  and  royal  dignity  [as]  afore- 
said, Their  said  Majesties  did  become,  were,  are  and  of  right 
ought  to  be  by  the  laws  of  this  realm  our  sovereign  liege  lord  and 
lady,  king  and  queen  of  England,  France  and  Ireland  and  the 
dominions  thereunto  belonging,  in  and  to  whose  princely  persons 
the  royal  state,  crown  and  dignity  of  the  said  realms,  with  all 
honours,  styles,  titles,  regalities,  prerogatives,  powers,  jurisdic- 
tions and  authorities  to  the  same  belonging  and  appertaining,  are 
most  fully,  rightfully  and  entirely  invested  and  incorporated, 
united  and  annexed ;  and  for  preventing  all  questions  and  divisions 
in  this  realm  by  reason  of  any  pretended  titles  to  the  crown  and 
for  preserving  a  certainty  in  the  succession  thereof,  in  and  upon 
which  the  unity,  peace,  tranquillity  and  safety  of  this  nation  doth 
under  God  wholly  consist  and  depend,  the  said  lords  spiritual  and 
temporal  and  commons  do  beseech  Their  Majesties,  that  it  may 
be  enacted,  established  and  declared,  that  the  crown  and  regal 
government  of  the  said  kingdom  and  dominions,  with  all  and 
singular  the  premises  thereunto  belonging  and  appertaining,  shall 
be  and  continue  to  Their  said  Majesties  and  the  survivor  of  them 
during  their  lives  and  the  life  of  the  survivor  of  them ;  and  that 
the  entire,  perfect  and  full  exercise  of  the  regal  power  and  gov- 
ernment be  only  in  and  executed  by  His  Majesty,  in  the  names 
of  both  Their  Majesties,  during  their  joint  lives;  and  after  their 
deceases  the  said  crown  and  premises  shall  be  and  remain  to  the 
heirs  of  the  body  of  Her  Majesty;  and  for  default  of  such  issue  to 
Her  Royal  Highness  the  princess  Anne  of  Denmark  and  the  heirs 
of  her  body;  and  for  default  of  such  issue  to  the  heirs  of  the  body 
of  His  said  Majesty;  and  thereunto  the  said  lords  spiritual  and 
temporal  and  commons  do  in  the  name  of  all  the  people  afore- 
said most  humbly  and  faithfully  submit  themselves,  their  heirs 
and  posterities  forever;  and  do  faithfully  promise  that  they  will 
stand  to,  maintain  and  defend  Their  said  Majesties,  and  also  the 
limitation  and  succession  of  the  crown  herein  specified  and  con- 


468  English  Constitutional  Documents 

tained,  to  the  utmost  of  their  powers  with  their  lives  and  estates 
against  all  persons  whatsoever  that  shall  attempt  anything  to  the 
contrary.  And  whereas  it  hath  been  found  by  experience,  that  it 
is  inconsistent  with  the  safety  and  welfare  of  this  Protestant  king- 
dom to  be  governed  by  a  popish  prince  or  by  any  king  or  queen 
marrying  a  papist,  the  said  lords  spiritual  and  temporal  and  com- 
mons do  further  pray,  that  it  may  be  enacted,  that  all  and  every 
person  and  persons  that  is,  are  or  shall  be  reconciled  to  or  shall 
hold  communion  with  the  See  or  Church  of  Rome,  or  shall  profess 
the  popish  religion,  or  shall  marry  a  papist,  shall  be  excluded  and 
be  forever  incapable  to  inherit,  possess  or  enjoy  the  crown  and 
government  of  this  realm  and  Ireland  and  the  dominions  there- 
unto belonging,  or  any  part  of  the  same,  or  to  have,  use  or  exer- 
cise any  regal  power,  authority  or  jurisdiction  within  the  same; 
and  in  all  and  every  such  case  or  cases  the  people  of  these 
realms  shall  be  and  are  hereby  absolved  of  their  allegiance;  and 
the  said  crown  and  government  shall  from  time  to  time  descend 
to  and  be  enjoyed  by  such  person  or  persons,  being  Protestants,  as 
should  have  inherited  and  enjoyed  the  same,  in  case  the  said  per- 
son or  persons  so  reconciled,  holding  communion,  or  professing,  or 
marrying,  as  aforesaid,  were  naturally  dead;  and  that  every  king 
and  queen  of  this  realm,  who  at  any  time  hereafter  shall  come  to 
and  succeed  in  the  imperial  crown  of  this  kingdom,  shall  on  the 
first  day  of  the  meeting  of  the  first  parliament,  next  after  his  or 
her  coming  to  the  crown,  sitting  in  his1  or  her  throne  in  the  house 
of  peers,  in  the  presence  of  the  lords  and  commons  therein 
assembled,  or  at  his  or  her  coronation,  before  such  person  or  per- 
sons who  shall  administer  the  coronation  oath  to  him  or  her  at 
the  time  of  his  or  her  taking  the  said  oath,  (which  shall  first 
happen),  make,  subscribe  and  audibly  repeat  the  declaration 
mentioned  in  the  statute  made  in  the  thirtieth  year  of  the  reign 
of  King  Charles  the  Second,  entitled,  An  Act  for  the  more  effectual 
preserving  the  King's  Person  and  Government  by  disabling 
Papists  from  sitting  in  either  House  of  Parliament;  but  if  it  shall 
happen  that  such  king  or  queen  upon  his  or  her  succession  to  the 
crown  of  this  realm  shall  be  under  the  age  of  twelve  years,  then 
every  such  king  or  queen  shall  make,  subscribe  and  audibly  repeat 
the  said  declaration  at  his  or  her  coronation,  or  the  first  day  of 
the  meeting  of  the  first  parliament  as  aforesaid,  which  shall  first 
happen  after  such  king  or  queen  shall  have  attained  the  said  age 
of  twelve  years.  All  which  Their  Majesties  are  contented  and 
pleased  shall  be  declared,  enacted  and  established  by  authority 
of  this  present  parliament,  and  shall  stand,  remain  and  be  the 


Act  Restoring  Charter  of  London          469 

law  of  this  realm  forever;  and  the  same  are  by  Their  said  Majes- 
ties, by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  lords  spiritual 
and  temporal  and  commons  in  parliament  assembled,  and  by 
the  authority  of  the  same,  declared,  enacted  and  established 
accordingly. 

II.  And  be  it  further  declared  and  enacted  by  the  authority 
aforesaid,  that,  from  and  after  this  present  session  of  parliament, 
no  dispensation  by  non  obstante  of  or  to  any  statute  or  any  part 
thereof  shall  be  allowed,  but  that  the  same  shall  be  held  void  and 
of  no  effect,  except  a  dispensation  be  allowed  of  in  such  statute, 
and  except  in  such  case  as  shall  be  specially  provided  for  by  one 
or  more  bill  or  bills  to  be  passed  during  this  present  session  of 
parliament. 

III.  Provided  that  no  charter  or  grant  or  pardon,  granted 
before  the  three  and  twentieth  day  of  October  in  the  year  of  our 
Lord  one  thousand  six  hundred  eighty-nine,  shall  be  any  ways 
impeached  or  invalidated  by  this  act,  but  that  the  same  shall  be 
and  remain  of  the  same  force  and  effect  in  law  and  no  other 
than  as  if  this  act  had  never  been  made. 


240.    Act  Restoring  Charter  of  London 

(1690,  May  14.     2  William  and  Mary,  c.  8.     6  S.  R.  171.) 

WHEREAS  a  judgment  was  given  in  the  court  of  king's  bench 
in  or  about  Trinity  term,  in  the  five  and  thirtieth  year  of 
the  reign  of  the  late  king  Charles  the  Second,  upon  an  informa- 
tion in  the  nature  of  a  Quo  Warranto,  exhibited  in  the  said  court 
against  the  mayor  and  commonalty  and  citizens  of  the  city  of 
London,  that  the  liberty,  privilege  and  franchise  of  the  said 
mayor  and  commonalty  and  citizens,  being  a  body  politic  and 
corporate,  should  be  seized  into  the  king's  hands  as  forfeited: 
and  forasmuch  as  the  said  judgment  and  the  proceedings  there- 
upon is  and  were  illegal  and  arbitrary;  and  for  that  the  restoring 
of  the  said  mayor  and  commonalty  and  citizens  to  their  ancient 
liberties  of  which  they  had  been  deprived  tends  very  much  to 
the  peace  and  good  settlement  of  this  kingdom;  be  it  declared 
and  enacted  by  the  king  and  queen's  most  excellent  Majesties, 
by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  lords  spiritual  and 
temporal  and  commons  in  this  present  parliament  assembled  and 
by  authority  of  the  same,  that  the  said  judgment  given  in  the  said 


470          English  Constitutional  Documents 

court  of  king's  bench,  in  the  said  Trinity  term,  in  the  five  and 
thirtieth  year  of  the  reign  of  the  said  king  Charles  the  Second,  or 
in  any  other  term,  and  all  and  every  other  judgment  given  or 
recorded  in  the  said  court  for  the  seizing  into  the  said  late 
king's  hands  the  liberty,  privilege  or  franchise  of  the  mayor  and 
commonalty  and  citizens  of  the  city  of  London  of  being  of  them- 
selves a  body  corporate  and  politic,  by  the  name  of  the  mayor 
and  commonalty  and  citizens  of  the  city  of  London,  and  by  that 
name  to  plead  and  be  impleaded  and  to  answer  and  to  be 
answered,  or  in  what  manner  or  words  soever  such  judgment  was 
entered  is,  shall  be  and  are  hereby  reversed,  annulled  and  made 
void  to  all  intents  and  purposes  whatsoever,  and  that  vacats  be 
entered  upon  the  rolls  of  the  said  judgment  for  the  vacating  and 
reversal  of  the  same  accordingly. 

II.  And  be  it  further  declared  and  enacted  by  the  authority 
aforesaid,  that  the  mayor  and  commonalty  and  citizens  of  the  city 
of  London  shall  and  may  forever  hereafter  remain,  continue  and 
be,  and  prescribe  to  be,  a  body  corporate  and  politic  in  re  facto 
et  nomine  by  the  name  of  mayor  and  commonalty  and  citizens 
of  the  city  of  London,  and  by  that  name  and  all  and  every  other 
name  and  names  of  incorporation,  by  which  they  at  any  time 
before  the  said  judgment  were  incorporated,  to  sue,  plead  and  be 
impleaded  and  to  answer  and  to  be  answered,  without  any  seizure 
or  forejudger  of  the  said  franchise,  liberty  and  privilege,  or  being 
thereof  excluded  or  ousted,  for  or  upon  any  pretence  of  any  for- 
feiture or  misdemeanour  at  any  time  heretofore  or  hereafter  to  be 
done,  committed  or  suffered;  and  the  said  mayor  and  commonalty 
and  citizens  of  the  said  city  shall  and  may,  as  by  law  they  ought, 
peaceably  have  and  enjoy  all  and  every  their  rights,  gifts,  char- 
ters, grants,  liberties,  privileges,  franchises,  customs,  usages, 
constitutions,  prescriptions,  immunities,  markets,  duties,  tolls, 
lands,  tenements,  estates  and  hereditaments  whatsoever,  which 
they  lawfully  had  or  had  lawful  right,  title  or  interest  of,  in  or 
to,  at  the  time  of  the  recording  or  giving  the  said  judgment  or  at 
the  time  or  times  of  the  said  pretended  forfeitures. 


The  Triennial  Act  471 

241.    The  Triennial  Act 

(1694,  December  22.    6  &  7  William  and  Mary,  c.  2.    6  S.  X.  5 10.) 

"I1THEREAS  by  the  ancient  laws  and  statutes  of  this  kingdom 
V  V  frequent  parliament  sought  to  be  held,  and  whereas  frequent 
and  new  parliaments  tend  very  much  to  the  happy  union  and 
good  agreement  of  the  king  and  people,  we  Your  Majesties'  most 
loyal  and  obedient  subjects,  the  lords  spiritual  and  temporal  and 
commons  in  this  present  parliament  assembled,  do  most  humbly 
beseech  Your  most  excellent  Majesties,  that  it  may  be  declared 
and  enacted  in  this  present  parliament,  and  it  is  hereby  declared 
and  enacted  by  the  king  and  queen's  most  excellent  Majesties, 
by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  lords  spiritual  and  tem- 
poral and  commons  in  this  present  parliament  assembled  and  by 
the  authority  of  the  same,  that  from  henceforth  a  parliament  shall 
be  holden  once  in  three  years  at  the  least. 

II.  And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  that 
within  three  years  at  the  farthest  from  and  after  the  dissolution 
of  this  present  parliament,  and  so  from  time  to  time  forever  here- 
after within  three  years  at  the  farthest  from  and  after  the  deter- 
mination of  every  other  parliament,  legal  writs  under  the  great 
seal  shall  be  issued  by  directions  of  Your  Majesties,  your  heirs  and 
successors,  for  calling,   assembling  and  holding  another  new 
parliament. 

III.  And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  that 
from  henceforth  no  parliament  whatsoever,  that  shall  at  any  time 
hereafter  be  called,  assembled  or  held,  shall  have  any  continuance 
longer  than  for  three  years  only  at  the  farthest,  to  be  accounted 
from  the  day  on  which  by  the  writs  of  summons  the  said  parlia- 
ment shall  be  appointed  to  meet. 

IV.  And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  that 
this  present  parliament  shall  cease  and  determine  on  the  first  day 
of  November,  which  shall  be  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thou- . 
sand  six  hundred  ninety-six,  unless  Their  Majesties  shall  think 
fit  to  dissolve  it  sooner. 


472  English  Constitutional  Documents 

242.    Treason  Trials  Act 

(1696.     7  &  8  William  III.  c.  3.    7  S.  X.  6.) 

WHEREAS  nothing  is  more  just  and  reasonable  than  that  per- 
sons prosecuted  for  high  treason  and  misprision  of  treason, 
whereby  the  liberties,  lives,  honour,  estates,  blood  and  posterity 
of  the  subjects  may  be  lost  and  destroyed,  should  be  justly  and 
equally  tried,  and  that  persons  accused  as  offenders  therein  should 
not  be  debarred  of  all  just  and  equal  means  for  defence  of  their 
innocencies  in  such  cases;  in  order  thereunto  and  for  the  better 
regulation  of  trials  of  persons  prosecuted  for  high  treason  and 
misprision  of  such  treason,  be  it  enacted  by  the  king's  most 
excellent  Majesty,  by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the 
lords  spiritual  and  temporal  and  the  commons  in  this  present 
parliament  assembled,  and  by  the  authority  of  the  same,  that  from 
and  after  the  five  and  twentieth  day  of  March  in  the  year  of  our 
Lord  one  thousand  six  hundred  ninety-six  all  and  every  person 
and  persons  whatsoever,  that  shall  be  accused  and  indicted  for 
high  treason,  whereby  any  corruption  of  blood  may  or  shall  be 
made  to  any  such  offender  or  offenders  or  to  any  the  heir  or  heirs 
of  any  such  offender  or  offenders,  or  for  misprision  of  such 
treason,  shall  have  a  true  copy  of  the  whole  indictment,  but  not 
the  names  of  the  witnesses,  delivered  unto  them  or  any  of  them 
five  days  at  the  least  before  he  or  they  shall  be  tried  for  the  same, 
whereby  to  enable  them  and  any  of  them  respectively  to  advise 
with  counsel  thereupon,  to  plead  and  make  their  defence,  his  or 
their  attorney  or  attorneys,  agent  or  agents,  or  any  of  them  requir- 
ing the  same,  and  paying  the  officer  his  reasonable  fees  for  writ- 
ing thereof,  not  exceeding  five  shillings  for  the  copy  of  every 
such  indictment;  and  that  every  such  person  so  accused  and 
indicted,  arraigned  or  tried  for  any  such  treason  as  aforesaid 
or  for  misprision  of  such  treason,  from  and  after  the  said  time, 
shall  be  received  and  admitted  to  make  his  and  their  full  defence 
by  counsel  learned  in  the  law,  and  to  make  any  proof  that  he  or 
they  can  produce  by  lawful  witness  or  witnesses,  who  shall  then  be 
upon  oath,  for  his  and  their  just  defence  in  that  behalf;  and  in 
case  any  person  or  persons  so  accused  or  indicted  shall  desire 
counsel,  the  court  before  whom  such  person  or  persons  shall  be 
tried  or  some  judge  of  that  court  shall  and  hereby  is  authorized 
and  required  immediately,  upon  his  or  their  request,  to  assign  to 
such  person  and  persons  such  and  so  many  counsel,  not  exceed- 


Treason  Trials  Act  473 

ing  two,  as  the  person  or  persons  shall  desire,  to  whom  such  coun- 
sel shall  have  free  access  at  all  seasonable  hours;  any  law  or  usage 
to  the  contrary  notwithstanding. 

II.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  that  from  and  after  the  said  five 
and  twentieth  day  of  March  in  the  year  of  our  lord  one  thousand 
six  hundred  ninety-six,  no  person  or  persons  whatsoever  shall  be 
indicted,  tried  or  attainted  of  high  treason,  whereby  any  corrup- 
tion of  blood  may  or  shall  be  made  to  any  such  offender  or 
offenders  or  to  any  the  heir  or  heirs  of  any  such  offender  or 
offenders,  or  of  misprision  of  such  treason,  but  by  and  upon  the 
oaths  and  testimony  of  two  lawful  witnesses,  either  both  of  them 
to  the  same  overt  act,  or  one  of  them  to  one  and  another  of  them 
to  another  overt  act  of  the  same  treason;  unless  the  party  indicted 
and  arraigned  or  tried  shall  willingly,  without  violence,  in  open 
court  confess  the  same,  or  shall  stand  mute  or  refuse  to  plead,  or 
in  cases  of  high  treason  shall  peremptorily  challenge  above  the 
number  of  thirty-five  of  the  jury;  any  law,  statute  or  usage  to  the 
contrary  notwithstanding. 


IV.  And  be  it  further  enacted  and  declared  by  the  authority 
aforesaid,  that  if  two  or  more  distinct  treasons  of  divers  heads  or 
kinds  shall  be  alleged  in  one  bill  of  indictment,  one  witness  pro- 
duced to  prove  one  of  the  said  treasons,  and  another  witness 
produced  to  prove  another  of   the  said  treasons,  shall  not  be 
deemed  or  taken  to  be  two  witnesses  to  the  same  treason  within 
the  meaning  of  this  act. 

V.  And  to  the  intent  that  the  terror  and  dread  of  such  criminal 
accusations  may  in  some  reasonable  time  be  removed,  be  it  further 
enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  that  from  and  after  the  said 
five  and  twentieth  day  of  March  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one 
thousand  six  hundred  ninety-six,  no  person  or  persons  whatsoever 
shall  be  indicted,  tried  or  prosecuted  for  any  such  treason  as 
aforesaid,  or  for  misprision  of  such  treason,  that  shall  be  com- 
mitted or  done  within  the  kingdom  of  England,  dominion  of 
Wales  or  town  of  Berwick  upon  Tweed,  after  the  said  five  and 
twentieth  day  of  March  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  six 
hundred  ninety-six,  unless  the  same  indictment  be  found  by  a 
grand  jury  within  three  years  next  after  the  treason  or  offence 
done  and  committed. 

VI.  And  that  no  person  or  persons  shall  be  prosecuted  for 
any  such  treason  or  misprision  of  such  treason,  committed  or 
done  or  to  be  committed  or  done  within  the  kingdom  of  Eng- 


474          English  Constitutional  Documents 

/and,  dominion  of  Wales  or  town  of  Berwick  upon  Tweed  before 
the  said  five  and  twentieth  day  of  March,  unless  he  or  they  shall 
be  indicted  thereof  within  three  years  after  the  said  five  and 
twentieth  day  of  March;  always  provided  and  excepted,  that  if 
any  person  or  persons  whatsoever  shall  be  guilty  of  designing, 
endeavouring  or  attempting  any  assassination  on  the  body  of  the 
king,  by  poison  or  otherwise,  such  person  or  persons  may  be 
prosecuted  at  any  time,  notwithstanding  the  aforesaid  limi- 
tation. 

VII.  And  all  and  every  person  and   persons,  who  shall  be 
accused,  indicted  and  tried  for  such  treason  as  aforesaid,  or  for 
misprision  of  such  treason,  after  the  said  five  and  twentieth  day 
of  March  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  six  hundred 
ninety-six,  shall  have  copies  of  the  panel  of  the  jurors  who  are  to 
try  them,  duly  returned  by  the  sheriff,  and  delivered  unto  them 
and  every  of  them  so  accused  and  indicted  respectively,  two  days 
at  the  least  before  he  or  they  shall  be  tried  for  the  same;  and  that 
all  persons  so  accused  and  indicted  for  any  such  treason  as  afore- 
said shall  have  the  like  process  of  the  court,  where  they  shall  be 
tried,  to  compel  their  witnesses  to  appear  for  them  at  any  such 
trial  or  trials,  as  is  usually  granted  to  compel  witnesses  to  appear 
against  them. 

VIII.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  that  no  evidence  shall  be 
admitted  or  given  of  any  overt  act,  that  is  not  expressly  laid  in 
the  indictment  against  any  person  or  persons  whatsoever. 


X.  And  whereas  by  the  good  laws  of  this  kingdom,  in  cases 
of  trials  of  commoners  for  their  lives,  a  jury  of  twelve  freeholders 
must  all  agree  in  one  opinion  before  they  can  bring  a  verdict 
either  for  acquittal  or  condemnation  of  the  prisoner;  and 
whereas  upon  the  trials  of  peers  or  peeresses  a  major  vote  is  suf- 
ficient either  to  acquit  or  condemn;  be  it  further  enacted  by  the 
authority  aforesaid,  that  upon  the  trial  of  any  peer  or  peeress, 
either  for  treason  or  misprision,  all  the  peers  who  have  a  right  to 
sit  and  vote  in  parliament  shall  be  duly  summoned,  twenty  days 
at  least  before  every  such  trial,  to  appear  at  every  such  trial ;  and 
that  every  peer  so  summoned  and  appearing  at  such  trial  shall 
vote  in  the  trial  of  such  peer  or  peeress  so  to  be  tried,  every  such 
peer  first  taking  the  oaths  mentioned  in  an  act  of  parliament  made 
in  the  first  year  of  the  reign  of  king  William  and  queen  Mary, 
entitled,  An  Act  for  abrogating  the  Oaths  of  Supremacy  and 
Allegiance  and  appointing  other  Oaths;  and  also  every  such  peer 


The  Act  of  Settlement  475 

subscribing  and  audibly  repeating  the  declaration  mentioned  in 
An  Act  for  the  more  effectual  preserving  the  King's  Person  and 
Government  by  disabling  Papists  from  sitting  in  either  House  of 
Parliament,  and  made  in  the  thirtieth  year  of  the  reign  of  the 
late  king  Charles  the  Second. 

XI.  Provided  always,  that  neither  this  act  nor  anything  therein 
contained  shall  any  way  extend  or  be  construed  to  extend  to  any 
impeachment  or  other  proceedings  in  parliament  in  any  kind 
whatsoever. 


243.    The  Act  of  Settlement. 

(1701,  June  12.     12  &  13  William  III.  c.  2.     7  S.  R.  636.     Stubbs,  Select 
Charters,  528-531.    G.  and  H.  664-670.) 

WHEREAS  in  the  first  year  of  the  reign  of  Your  Majesty  and 
of  our  late  most  gracious  sovereign  lady  queen  Mary  (of 
blessed  memory)  an  act  of  parliament  was  made,  entitled,  An  Act 
for  declaring  the  Rights  and  Liberties  of  the  Subject  and  for 
settling  the  Succession  of  the  Crown,  wherein  it  was  (amongst 
other  things)  enacted,  established  and  declared,  that  the  crown 
and  regal  government  of  the  kingdoms  of  England,  France  and 
Ireland,  and  the  dominions  thereunto  belonging,  should  be  and 
continue  to  Your  Majesty  and  the  said  late  queen  during  the 
joint  lives  of  Your  Majesty  and  the  said  queen  and  to  the  survivor; 
and  that  after  the  decease  of  Your  Majesty  and  of  the  said  queen 
the  said  crown  and  regal  government  should  be  and  remain  to  the 
heirs  of  the  body  of  the  said  late  queen;  and  for  default  of  such 
issue  to  Her  Royal  Highness  the  princess  Anne  of  Denmark  and 
the  heirs  of  her  body;  and  for  default  of  such  issue  to  the  heirs  of 
the  body  of  Your  Majesty.  And  it  was  thereby  further  enacted,  that 
all  and  every  person  and  persons  that  then  were  or  afterwards 
should  be  reconciled  to  or  should  hold  communion  with  the  See  or 
Church  of  Rome,  or  should  profess  the  popish  religion,  or  marry 
a  papist,  should  be  excluded,  and  are  by  that  act  made  forever 
incapable  to  inherit,  possess  or  enjoy  the  crown  and  government 
of  this  realm  and  Ireland  and  the  dominions  thereunto  belonging 
or  any  part  of  the  same,  or  to  have,  use  or  exercise  any  regal 
power,  authority  or  jurisdiction  within  the  same;  and  in  all  and 
every  such  case  and  cases  the  people  of  these  realms  shall  be 
and  are  thereby  absolved  of  their  allegiance;  and  that  the  said 


476          English  Constitutional  Documents 

crown  and  government  shall  from  time  to  time  descend  to  and  be 
enjoyed  by  such  person  or  persons,  being  Protestants,  as  should 
have  inherited  and  enjoyed  the  same,  in  case  the  said  person  or 
persons  so  reconciled,  holding  communion,  professing  or  marry- 
ing as  aforesaid,  were  naturally  dead.  After  the  making  of  which 
statute  and  the  settlement  therein  contained,  Your  Majesty's  good 
subjects,  who  were  restored  to  the  full  and  free  possession  and 
enjoyment  of  their  religion,  rights  and  liberties  by  the  provi- 
dence of  God  giving  success  to  Your  Majesty's  just  undertakings 
and  unwearied  endeavours  for  that  purpose,  had  no  greater  tem- 
poral felicity  to  hope  or  wish  for,  than  to  see  a  royal  progeny 
descending  from  Your  Majesty,  to  whom  (under  God)  they  owe 
their  tranquillity,  and  whose  ancestors  have  for  many  years  been 
principal  assertors  of  the  reformed  religion  and  the  liberties  of 
Europe  and  from  our  said  most  gracious  sovereign  lady,  whose 
memory  will  always  be  precious  to  the  subjects  of  these  realms; 
and  it  having  since  pleased  Almighty  God  to  take  away  our  said 
sovereign  lady,  and  also  the  most  hopeful  prince  William,  duke  of 
Gloucester,  (the  only  surviving  issue  of  Her  Royal  Highness  the 
princess  Anne  of  Denmark),  to  the  unspeakable  grief  and  sorrow 
of  Your  Majesty  and  your  said  good  subjects,  who,  under  such 
losses  being  sensibly  put  in  mind,  that  it  standeth  wholly  in  the 
pleasure  of  Almighty  God  to  prolong  the  lives  of  Your  Majesty 
and  of  Her  Royal  Highness,  and  to  grant  to  Your  Majesty  or  to 
Her  Royal  Highness  such  issue  as  may  be  inheritable  to  the  crown 
and  regal  government  aforesaid,  by  the  respective  limitations  in 
the  said  recited  act  contained,  do  constantly  implore  the  divine 
mercy  for  those  blessings;  and  Your  Majesty's  said  subjects  having 
daily  experience  of  your  royal  care  and  concern  for  the  present 
and  future  welfare  of  these  kingdoms,  and  particularly  recom- 
mending from  your  throne  a  further  provision  to  be  made  for 
the  succession  of  the  crown  in  the  Protestant  line,  for  the  happi- 
ness of  the  nation  and  the  security  of  our  religion;  and  it  being 
absolutely  necessary  for  the  safety,  peace  and  quiet  of  this  realm, 
to  obviate  all  doubts  and  contentions  in  the  same,  by  reason  of 
any  pretended  title  to  the  crown  and  to  maintain  a  certainty 
in  the  succession  thereof,  to  which  your  subjects  may  safely  have 
recourse  for  their  protection,  in  case  the  limitations  in  the  said 
just  recited  act  should  determine :  Therefore  for  a  further  pro- 
vision of  the  succession  of  the  crown  in  the  Protestant  line,  we 
Your  Majesty's  most  dutiful  and  loyal  subjects,  the  lords  spiritual 
and  temporal  and  commons  in  this  present  parliament  assembled, 
do  beseech  Your  Majesty  that  it  may  be  enacted  and  declared, 


The  Act  of  Settlement  477 

and  be  it  enacted  and  declared  by  the  king's  most  excellent 
Majesty  by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  lords  spiritual 
and  temporal  and  commons  in  this  present  parliament  assembled, 
and  by  the  authority  of  the  same,  that  the  most  excellent  princess 
Sophia,  electress  and  duchess  dowager  of  Hanover,  daughter  of  the 
most  excellent  princess  Elizabeth,  late  queen  of  Bohemia,  daughter 
of  our  late  sovereign  lord  king  James  the  First, of  happy  memory, be 
and  is  hereby  declared  to  be  the  next  in  succession  in  the  Protes- 
tant line  to  the  imperial  crown  and  dignity  of  the  said  realms 
of  England,  France  and  Ireland,  with  the  dominions  and  terri- 
tories thereunto  belonging,  after  His  Majesty  and  the  princess 
Anne  of  Denmark,  and  in  default  of  issue  of  the  said  princess  Anne 
and  of  His  Majesty  respectively;  and  that  from  and  after  the 
deceases  of  His  said  Majesty  our  now  sovereign  lord  and  of  Her 
Royal  Highness  the  princess  Anne  of  Denmark,  and  for  default  of 
issue  of  the  said  princess  Anne  and  of  His  Majesty  respectively, 
the  crown  and  regal  government  of  the  said  kingdoms  of  Eng- 
land, France  and  Ireland  and  of  the  dominions  thereunto  belong- 
:ng,  with  the  royal  state  and  dignity  of  the  said  realms  and  all 
honours,  styles,  titles,  regalities,  prerogatives,  powers,  jurisdic- 
tions and  authorities  to  the  same  belonging  and  appertaining, 
shall  be,  remain  and  continue  to  the  said  most  excellent  princess 
Sophia  and  the  heirs  of  her  body,  being  Protestants;  and  thereunto 
the  said  lords  spiritual  and  temporal  and  commons  shall  and  will, 
in  the  name  of  all  the  people  of  this  realm,  most  humbly  and 
faithfully  submit  themselves,  their  heirs  and  posterities,  and  do 
faithfully  promise  that  after  the  deceases  of  His  Majesty  and 
Her  Royal  Highness,  and  the  failure  of  the  heirs  of  their  respec- 
tive bodies,  to  stand  to,  maintain  and  defend  the  said  princess 
Sophia  and  the  heirs  of  her  body,  being  Protestants,  according  to 
the  limitation  and  succession  of  the  crown  in  this  act  specified 
and  contained,  to  the  utmost  of  their  powers,  with  their  lives  and 
estates,  against  all  persons  whatsoever  that  shall  attempt  anything 
to  the  contrary. 

II.  Provided  always,  and  it  is  hereby  enacted,  that  all  and  every 
person  and  persons,  who  shall  or  may  take  or  inherit  the  said 
crown,  by  virtue  of  the  limitation  of  this  present  act,  and  is,  are 
or  shall  be  reconciled  to  or  shall  hold  communion  with  the  See 
or  Church  of  Rome,  or  shall  profess  the  popish  religion,  or  shall 
marry  a  papist,  shall  be  subject  to  such  incapacities,  as  in  such 
case  or  cases  are  by  the  said  recited  act  provided,  enacted  and 
established;  and  that  every  king  and  queen  of  this  realm,  who 
shall  come  to  and  succeed  in  the  imperial  crown  of  this  kingdom 


478  English  Constitutional  Documents 

by  virtue  of  this  act,  shall  have  the  coronation  oath  administered 
to  him,  her  or  them,  at  their  respective  coronations,  according  to 
the  act  of  parliament  made  in  the  first  year  of  the  reign  of  His 
Majesty  and  the  said  late  queen  Mary,  entitled,  An  Act  for  estab- 
lishing the  Coronation  Oath,  and  shall  make,  subscribe  and  repeat 
the  declaration  in  the  act  first  above  recited,  mentioned  or 
referred  to,  in  the  manner  and  form,  thereby  prescribed. 

III.  And  whereas  it  is  requisite  and  necessary  that  some  further 
provision  be  made  for  .securing  our  religion,  laws  and  liberties, 
from  and  after  the  death  of  His  Majesty  and  the  princess  Anne  of 
Denmark,  and  in  default  of  issue  of  the  body  of  the  said  princess 
and  of  His  Majesty  respectively;  be  it  enacted  by  the  king's  most 
excellent  Majesty,  by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  lords 
spiritual  and  temporal  and  commons  in  parliament  assembled, 
and  by  the  authority  of  the  same : 

That  whosoever  shall  hereafter  come  to  the  possession  of  this 
crown  shall  join  in  communion  with  the  Church  of  England  as  by 
law  established. 

That  in  case  the  crown  and  imperial  dignity  of  this  realm  shall 
hereafter  come  to  any  person,  not  being  a  native  of  this  kingdom 
of  England,  this  nation  be  not  obliged  to  engage  in  any  war  for 
the  defence  of  any  dominions  or  territories  which  do  not  belong 
to  the  crown  of  England,  without  consent  of  parliament. 

That  no  person  who  shall  hereafter  come  to  the  possession  of 
this  crown  shall  go  out  of  the  dominions  of  England,  Scotland  or 
Ireland,  without  consent  of  parliament. 

That  from  and  after  the  time  that  the  further  limitation  by  this 
act  shall  take  effect,  all  matters  and  things  relating  to  the  well 
governing  of  this  kingdom,  which  are  properly  cognizable  in  the 
privy  council  by  the  laws  and  customs  of  this  realm,  shall  be  trans- 
acted there;  and  all  resolutions  taken  thereupon  shall  be  signed 
by  such  of  the  privy  council  as  shall  advise  and  consent  to  the 
same. 

That  after  the  said  limitation  shall  take  effect  as  aforesaid,  no 
person  born  out  of  the  kingdoms  of  England,  Scotland  or  Ireland 
or  the  dominions  thereunto  belonging  (although  he  be  natural- 
ized or  made  a  denizen,  except  such  as  are  born  of  English 
parents)  shall  be  capable  to  be  of  the  privy  council,  or  a  member 
of  either  house  of  parliament,  or  to  enjoy  any  office  or  place  of 
trust,  either  civil  or  military,  or  to  have  any  grant  of  lands,  tene- 
ments or  hereditaments  from  the  crown  to  himself  or  to  any  other 
or  others  in  trust  for  him. 

That  no  person  who  has  an  office  or  place  of  profit  under  the 


Act  of  Union  with  Scotland  479 

king  or  receives  a  pension  from  the  crown  shall  be  capable  of 
serving  as  a  member  of  the  house  of  commons. 

That  after  the  said  limitation  shall  take  effect  as  aforesaid, 
judges  commissions  be  made  quam  diu  sc  bent  gesserint,  and 
their  salaries  ascertained  and  established,  but  upon  the  address  of 
both  houses  of  parliament  it  may  be  lawful  to  remove  them. 

That  no  pardon  under  the  great  seal  of  England  be  pleadable 
to  an  impeachment  by  the  commons  in  parliament. 

IV.  And  whereas  the  laws  of  England  are  the  birthright  of  the 
people  thereof,  and  all  the  kings  and  queens  who  shall  ascend  the 
throne  of  this  realm  ought  to  administer  the  government  of 
the  same  according  to  the  said  laws,  and  all  their  officers  and 
ministers  ought  to  serve  them  respectively  according  to  the  same; 
the  said  lords  spiritual  and  temporal  and  commons  do  therefore 
further  humbly  pray,  that  all  the  laws  and  statutes  of  this  realm 
for  securing  the  established  religion  and  the  rights  and  liberties 
of  the  people  thereof,  and  all  other  laws  and  statutes  of  the  same 
now  in  force,  may  be  ratified  and  confirmed,  and  the  same  are  by 
His  Majesty,  by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  said  lords 
spiritual  and  temporal  and  commons,  and  by  authority  of  the  same, 
ratified  and  confirmed  accordingly. 


244.    Act  of  Union  with  Scotland. 

(170$,  March  6.     5  Anne,  c.  &     S  S.  £.  566.) 

A/TOST  gracious  sovereign, 

IV!  Whereas  Articles  of  Union  were  agreed  on,  the  twenty-second 
day  of  July  in  the  fifth  year  of  Your  Majesty's  reign,  by  the  com- 
missioners nominated  on  behalf  of  the  kingdom  of  England  under 
Your  Majesty's  great  seal  of  England,  bearing  date  at  Westminster 
the  tenth  day  of  April  then  last  past,  in  pursuance  of  an  act  of 
parliament  made  in  England  in  the  third  year  of  Your  Majesty's 
reign,  and  the  commissioners  nominated  on  the  behalf  of  the 
kingdom  of  Scotland  under  Your  Majesty's  great  seal  of  Scotland, 
bearing  date  the  twenty-seventh  day  of  February  in  the  fourth  year 
of  Your  Majesty's  reign,  in  pursuance  of  the  fourth  act  of  the  third 
session  of  the  present  parliament  of  Scotland,  to  treat  of  and  con- 
cerning an  union  of  the  said  kingdoms;  and  whereas  an  act  hath 
passed  in  the  parliament  of  Scotland  at  Edinburgh  the  sixteenth 
day  of  January  in  the  fifth  year  of  Your  Majesty's  reign,  wherein 
'tis  mentioned,  that  the  estates  of  parliament  considering  the  said 


480  English  Constitutional  Documents 

Articles  of  Union  of  the  two  kingdoms  had  agreed  to  and  approved 
of  the  said  Articles  of  Union,  with  some  additions  and  explana- 
tions, and  that  Your  Majesty,  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the 
estates  of  parliament,  for  establishing  the  Protestant  religion  and 
Presbyterian  church  government  within  the  kingdom  of  Scot- 
land, had  passed  in  the  same  session  of  parliament  an  act, 
entitled,  Act  for  securing  of  the  Protestant  Religion  and  Presby- 
terian Church  Government,  which  by  the  tenor  thereof  was  ap- 
pointed to  be  inserted  in  any  act  ratifying  the  treaty,  and 
expressly  declared  to  be  a  fundamental  and  essential  condition 
of  the  said  treaty  or  union  in  all  times  coming;  the  tenor  of 
which  articles,  as  ratified  and  approved  of  with  additions  and 
explanations  by  the  said  act  of  parliament  of  Scotland,  fol- 
lows: 

ARTICLE  I 

That  the  two  kingdoms  of  England  and  Scotland  shall  upon  the 
first  day  of  May  which  shall  be  in  the  year  one  thousand  seven  hun- 
dred and  seven,  and  forever  after,  be  united  into  one  kingdom  by 
the  name  of  Great  Britain;  and  that  the  ensigns  armorial  of  the 
said  United  Kingdom  be  such  as  Her  Majesty  shall  appoint,  and 
the  crosses  of  St.  George  and  St.  Andrew  be  conjoined  in  such 
manner  as  Her  Majesty  shall  think  fit,  and  used  in  all  flags,  ban- 
ners, standards  and  ensigns,  both  at  sea  and  land. 

ARTICLE  II 

That  the  succession  to  the  monarchy  of  the  United  Kingdom 
of  Great  Britain  and  of  the  dominions  thereto  belonging  after 
Her  most  sacred  Majesty  and  in  default  of  issue  of  Her  Majesty 
be,  remain  and  continue  to  the  most  excellent  princess  Sophia, 
electress  and  duchess  dowager  of  Hanover,  and  the  heirs  of  her 
body,  being  Protestants,  upon  whom  the  crown  of  England  is 
settled  by  an  act  of  parliament  made  in  England  in  the  twelfth 
year  of  the  reign  of  His  late  Majesty  king  William  the  Third, 
entitled,  An  Act  for  the  further  Limitation  of  the  Crown  and  better 
securing  the  Rights  and  Liberties  of  the  Subject;  and  that  all 
papists  and  persons  marrying  papists  shall  be  excluded  from  and 
forever  incapable  to  inherit,  possess  or  enjoy  the  imperial  crown 
of  Great  Britain  and  the  dominions  thereunto  belonging  or  any 
part  thereof,  and  in  every  such  case  the  crown  and  government 
shall  from  time  to  time  descend  to  and  be  enjoyed  by  such  per- 
son, being  a  Protestant,  as  should  have  inherited  and  enjoyed  the 
same,  in  case  such  papist  or  person  marrying  a  papist  was  naturally 


Act  of  Union  with  Scotland  481 

dead,  according  to  the  provision  for  the  descent  of  the  crown  of 
England,  made  by  another  act  of  parliament  in  England  in  the 
first  year  of  the  reign  of  Their  late  Majesties,  king  William  and 
queen  Mary,  entitled,  An  Act  declaring  the  Rights  and  Liberties 
of  the  Subject  and  settling  the  Succession  of  the  Crown. 

ARTICLE  III 

That  the  United  Kingdom  of  Great  Britain  be  represented  by 
one  and  the  same  parliament  to  be  styled  the  Parliament  of  Great 
Britain. 

ARTICLE  IV 

That  all  the  subjects  of  the  United  Kingdom  of  Great  Britain 
shall  from  and  after  the  union  have  full  freedom  and  intercourse 
of  trade  and  navigation  to  and  from  any  port  or  place  within  the 
said  United  Kingdom  and  the  dominions  and  plantations  there- 
unto belonging;  and  that  there  be  a  communication  of  all  other 
rights,  privileges  and  advantages,  which  do  or  may  belong  to  the 
subjects  of  either  kingdom,  except  where  it  is  otherwise  expressly 
agreed  in  these  articles. 


ARTICLE  XVIII 

That  the  laws  concerning  regulation  of  trade,  customs  and  such 
excises,  to  which  Scotland  is  by  virtue  of  this  treaty  to  be  liable, 
be  the  same  in  Scotland  from  and  after  the  union  as  in  England; 
and  that  all  other  laws  in  use  within  the  kingdom  of  Scotland  do 
after  the  union  and  notwithstanding  thereof  remain  in  the  same 
force  as  before,  (except  such  as  are  contrary  to  or  inconsistent 
with  this  treaty),  but  alterable  by  the  parliament  of  Great  Britain; 
with  this  difference  betwixt  the  laws  concerning  public  right, 
policy  and  civil  government  and  those  which  concern  private 
right,  that  the  laws  which  concern  public  right,  policy  and  civil 
government  may  be  made  the  same  throughout  the  whole  United 
Kingdom,  but  that  no  alteration  be  made  in  laws  which  concern 
private  right,  except  for  evident  utility  of  the  subjects  within 
Scotland. 

ARTICLE  XLX 

That  the  Court  of  Session  or  College  of  Justice  do  after  the 
union,  and  notwithstanding  thereof,  remain  in  all  time  coming 
within  Scotland,  as  it  is  now  constituted  by  the  laws  of  that  king- 
dom, *  *  *  and  that  all  inferior  courts  within  the  said  limits  do 


482  English  Constitutional  Documents 

remain  subordinate,  as  they  are  now,  to  the  supreme  courts  of 
justice  within  the  same,  in  all  time  coming;  and  that  no  causes  in 
Scotland  be  cognizable  by  the  courts  of  chancery,  queen's  bench, 
common  pleas,  or  any  other  court  in  Westminster  Hall;  *  *  * 


ARTICLE  XXII 

That  by  virtue  of  this  treaty,  of  the  peers  of  Scotland  at  the  time 
of  the  union  sixteen  shall  be  the  number  to  sit  and  vote  in  the 
house  of  lords,  and  forty-five  the  number  of  the  representatives 
of  Scotland  in  the  house  of  commons  of  the  parliament  of  Great 
Britain;  and  that  when  Her  Majesty,  her  heirs  or  successors,  shall 
declare  her  or  their  pleasure  for  holding  the  first  or  any  subse- 
quent parliament  of  Great  Britain,  until  the  parliament  of  Great 
Britain  shall  make  further  provision  therein,  a  writ  do  issue  under 
the  great  seal  of  the  United  Kingdom  directed  to  the  privy  coun- 
cil of  Scotland,  commanding  them  to  cause  sixteen  peers  who  are 
to  sit  in  the  house  of  lords  to  be  summoned  to  parliament,  and 
forty-five  members  to  be  elected  to  sit  in  the  house  of  commons 
of  the  parliament  of  Great  Britain,  according  to  the  agreement 
in  this  treaty,  in  such  manner  as  by  an  act  of  this  present  session 
of  the  parliament  of  Scotland  is  or  shall  be  settled;  which  act  is 
hereby  declared  to  be  as  valid  as  if  it  were  a  part  of  and  engrossed 
in  this  treaty;  and  that  the  names  of  the  persons  so  summoned  and 
elected  shall  be  returned  by  the  privy  council  of  Scotland  into 
the  court  from  whence  the  said  writ  did  issue.  *  *  * 


And  the  tenor  of  the  aforesaid  'Act  for  securing  of  the  Protes- 
tant Religion  and  Presbyterian  Church  Government  within  the 
Kingdom  of  Scotland  '  is  as  follows : 

*  *  *  And  further  Her  Majesty  with  advice  aforesaid  ex- 
pressly declares  and  statutes,  that  none  of  the  subjects  of 
this  kingdom  shall  be  liable  to,  but  all  and  every  one  of  them  for- 
ever free  of  any  oath,  test  or  subscription  within  this  kingdom, 
contrary  to  or  inconsistent  with  the  foresaid  true  Protestant  reli- 
gion and  Presbyterian  church  government,  worship  and  discipline, 
as  above  established;  and  that  the  same  within  the  bounds  of  this 
church  and  kingdom  shall  never  be  imposed  upon  or  required  of 
them  in  any  sort;  and  lastly,  that  after  the  decease  of  Her  present 
Majesty  (whom  God  long  preserve)  the  sovereign  succeeding  to 
her  in  the  royal  government  of  the  kingdom  of  Great  Britain  shall 


The  Place  Act  483 

in  all  time  coming,  at  his  or  her  accession  to  the  crown,  swear  and 
subscribe,  that  they  shall  inviolably  maintain  and  preserve  the 
foresaid  settlement  of  the  true  Protestant  religion,  with  the  govern- 
ment, worship,  discipline,  right  and  privileges  of  this  church,  as 
above  established  by  the  laws  of  this  kingdom,  in  prosecution  of 
the  Claim  of  Right.  *  *  * 


X.  May  it  therefore  please  Your  most  excellent  Majesty,  that 
it  may  be  enacted;  and  be  it  enacted  by  the  Queen's  most  excel- 
lent Majesty,  by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  lords 
spiritual  and  temporal  and  commons  in  this  present  parliament 
assembled,  and  by  the  authority  of  the  same,  that  all  and  every 
the  said  Articles  of  Union  as  ratified  and  approved  by  the  said 
act  of  parliament  of  Scotland,  as  aforesaid,  and  hereinbefore 
particularly  mentioned  and  inserted;  and  also  the  said  act  of 
parliament  of  Scotland  for  establishing  the  Protestant  religion 
and  Presbyterian  church  government  within  that  king'dom,  en- 
titled, *  *  *,  and  every  clause,  matter  and  thing  in  the  said 
articles  and  act  contained,  shall  be,  and  the  said  articles  and 
acts  are  hereby  forever  ratified,  approved  and  confirmed. 


245.    The  Place  Act 

(1707.    6  Anne,  c.  7.    First  enacted  in  1705,  in  4  Anne,  c.  8.     8  S.  R.  742.) 


XXIV.  AND  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  afore- 
said, that  no  person  who  shall  have  in  his  own  name  or  in 
the  name  of  any  person  or  persons  in  trust  for  him  or  for  his 
benefit  any  new  office  or  place  of  profit  whatsoever  under  the 
crown,  which  at  any  time  since  the  five  and  twentieth  day  of 
October  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and 
five  have  been  created  or  erected,  or  hereafter  shall  be  created  or 
erected,  nor  any  person  who  shall  be  commissioner  or  sub-com- 
missioner of  prizes,  secretary  or  receiver  of  the  prizes,  nor  any 
comptroller  of  the  accounts  of  the  army,  nor  any  commissioner  of 
transports,  nor  any  commissioner  of  the  sick  and  wounded,  nor 
any  agent  for  any  regiment,  nor  any  commissioner  for  any  wine 
licenses,  nor  any  governor  [or]  deputy  governor  of  any  of  the 


484  English  Constitutional   Documents 

plantations,  nor  any  commissioners  of  the  navy  employed  in  any 
of  the  out  ports,  nor  any  person  having  any  pension  from  the  crown 
during  pleasure,  shall  be  capable  of  being  elected  or  of  sitting  or 
voting  as  a  member  of  the  house  of  commons  in  any  parliament 
which  shall  be  hereafter  summoned  and  holden. 

XXV.  Provided  always,  that  if  any  person  being  chosen  a 
member  of  the  house  of  commons  shall  accept  of  any  office  of 
profit  from  the  crown,  during  such  time  as  he  shall  continue  a 
member,  his  election  shall  be  and  is  hereby  declared  to  be  void, 
and  a  new  writ  shall  issue  for  a  new  election,  as  if  such  person  so 
accepting  was  naturally  dead;  provided  nevertheless  that  such 
person  shall  be  capable  of  being  again  elected,  as  if  his  place  had 
not  become  void  as  aforesaid. 

XXVI.  Provided  also,  and  be  it  enacted,  that  in  order  to  pre- 
vent for  the  future  too  great  a  number  of  commissioners  to  be 
appointed  or  constituted  for  the  executing  of  any  office,  that  no 
greater  number  of  commissioners  shall  be  made  or  constituted  for 
the  execution  of  any  office,  than  have  been  employed  in  the  exe- 
cution of  such  respective  office  at  some  time  before  the  first  day 
of  this  present  parliament. 

XXVII.  Provided  also,  that  nothing  herein  contained  shall 
extend  or  be  construed  to  extend  to  any  member  of  the  house  of 
commons,  being  an  officer  in  Her  Majesty's  navy  or  army,  who 
shall  receive  any  new  or  other  commission  in  the  army  or  navy 
respectively. 

XXVIII.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  that  if  any  person  hereby 
disabled,  or  declared  to  be  incapable  to  sit  or  vote  in  any  parlia- 
ment hereafter  to  be  holden,  shall  nevertheless  be  returned  as  a 
member  to  serve  for  any  county,  stewartry,  city,  town  or  Cinque 
port  in  any  such  parliament,  such  election  and  return  are  hereby 
enacted  and  declared  to  be  void  to  all  intents  and  purposes  what- 
soever; and  if  any  person  disabled  or  declared  incapable  by  this 
act  to  be  elected  shall  after  the  dissolution  or  determination  of 
this  present  parliament  presume  to  sit  or  vote  as  a  member  of  the 
house  of  commons  in  any  parliament  to  be  hereafter  summoned, 
such  person  so  sitting  or  voting  shall  forfeit  the  sum  of  five  hun- 
dred pounds,  to  be  recovered  by  such  person  as  shall  sue  for  the 
same  in  England  by  action  of  debt,  bill,  plaint  or  information, 
wherein  no  essoin,  protection  or  wager  of  law  shall  be  allowed, 
and  only  one  imparlance. 

XXIX.  And  be  it  further  enacted  and  declared,  that  every  per- 
son disabled  to  be  elected  or  to  sit  or  vote  in  the  house  of  com- 
mons of  any  parliament  of  England  shall  be  disabled  to  be  elected 


The  Riot  Act  485 

or  to  sit  or  vote  in  the  house  of  commons  of  any  parliament  of 
Great  Britain. 


246.   The  Riot  Act 

(1715,  July  20.     i  George  I.  staL  2,  c.  5.     13  S.  L.  142.) 

I.  WHEREAS  of  late  many  rebellious  riots  and  tumults  have 
been  in  divers  parts  of  this  kingdom,  to  the  disturbance  of  the 
public  peace,  and  the  endangering  of  His  Majesty's  person  and 
government,  and  the  same  are  yet  continued  and  fomented  by 
persons  disaffected  to  His  Majesty,  presuming  so  to  do,  for  that 
the  punishments  provided  by  the  laws  now  in  being  are  not  ade- 
quate to  such  heinous  offences;  and  by  such  rioters  His  Majesty 
and  his  administration  have  been  most  maliciously  and  falsely 
traduced,  with  an  intent  to  raise  divisions,  and  to  alienate  the 
affections  of  the  people  from  His  Majesty :  therefore  for  the  pre- 
venting and  suppressing  of  such  riots  and  tumults,  and  for  the 
more  speedy  and  effectual  punishing  the  offenders  therein;  be  it 
enacted  by  the  king's  most  excellent  Majesty,  by  and  with  the 
advice  and  consent  of  the  lords  spiritual  and  temporal  and  of 
the  commons  in  this  present  parliament  assembled,  and  by  the 
authority  of  the  same,  that  if  any  persons  to  the  number  of  twelve 
or  more,  being  unlawfully,  riotously,  and  tumultuously  assembled 
together,  to  the  disturbance  of  the  public  peace,  at  any  time  after 
the  last  day  of  July  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  seven 
hundred  and  fifteen,  and  being  required  or  commanded  by  any 
one  or  more  justice  or  justices  of  the  peace,  or  by  the  sheriff  of 
the  county,  or  his  under-sheriff,  or  by  the  mayor,  bailiff,  or  bailiffs, 
or  other  head-officer,  or  justice  of  the  peace  of  any  city  or  town 
corporate,  where  such  assembly  shall  be,  by  proclamation  to  be 
made  in  the  king's  name,  in  the  form  hereinafter  directed,  to 
disperse  themselves,  and  peaceably  to  depart  to  their  habitations, 
or  to  their  lawful  business,  shall,  to  the  number  of  twelve  or  more, 
(notwithstanding  such  proclamation  made)  unlawfully,  riotously 
and  tumultuously  remain  or  continue  together  by  the  space  of  one 
hour  after  such  command  or  request  made  by  proclamation,  that 
then  such  continuing  together  to  the  number  of  twelve  or  more, 
after  such  command  or  request  made  by  proclamation,  shall  be 
adjudged  felony  without  benefit  of  clergy,  and  the  offenders 


486  English  Constitutional  Documents 

therein  shall  be  adjudged  felons,  and  shall  suffer  death  as  in  case 
of  felony  without  benefit  of  clergy. 

II.  And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  that 
the  order  and  form  of  the  proclamation  that  shall  be  made  by  the 
authority  of  this  act,  shall  be  as  hereafter  followeth  (that  is  to  say) 
the  justice  of  the  peace,  or  other  person  authorized  by  this  act 
to  make  the  said  proclamation  shall,  among  the  said  rioters,  or 
as  near  to  them  as  he  can  safely  come,  with  a  loud  voice  com- 
mand, or  cause  to  be  commanded  silence  to  be,  while  proclama- 
tion is  making,  and  after  that,  shall  openly  and  with  loud  voice 
make  or  cause  to  be  made  proclamation  in  these  words,  or  like 
in  effect : 

'Our  sovereign  lord  the  king  chargeth  and  commandeth  all  per- 
sons, being  assembled,  immediately  to  disperse  themselves,  and 
peaceably  to  depart  to  their  habitations,  or  to  their  lawful  busi- 
ness, upon  the  pains  contained  in  the  act  made  in  the  first  year 
of  king  George,  for  preventing  tumults  and  riotous  assemblies. 

God  save  the  king.' 

And  every  such  justice  and  justices  of  the  peace,  sheriff,  under- 
sheriff,  mayor,  bailiff,  and  other  head  officer  aforesaid,  within 
the  limits  of  their  respective  jurisdictions,  are  hereby  authorized, 
empowered  and  required,  on  notice  or  knowledge  of  any  such 
unlawful,  riotous  and  tumultuous  assembly,  to  resort  to  the  place 
where  such  unlawful,  riotous  and  tumultuous  assemblies  shall 
be,  of  persons  to  the  number  of  twelve  or  more,  and  there  to 
make  or  cause  to  be  made  proclamation  in  manner  aforesaid. 

III.  And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid, 
that  if  such  persons  so  unlawfully,  riotously,  and  tumultuously 
assembled,  or  twelve  or  more  of  them,  after  proclamation  made 
in  manner  aforesaid,  shall  continue  together  and  not  disperse 
themselves  within  one  hour,  that  then  it  shall  and  may  be  lawful 
to  and  for  every  justice  of  the  peace,  sheriff,  or  under-sheriff  of 
the  county  where  such  assembly  shall  be,  and  also  to  or  for  every 
high  or  petty  constable,   and  other  peace  officer  within  such 
county,  and  also  to  or  for  every  mayor,  justice  of  the  peace, 
sheriff,  bailiff,  and  other  head-officer,  high  or  petty  constable, 
and  other  peace  officer  of  any  city  or  town  corporate  where  such 
assembly  shall  be,  and  to  and  for  such  other  person  and  persons 
as  shall  be  commanded  to  be  assisting  unto  any  such  justice  of 
the  peace,  sheriff  or  under-sheriff,  mayor,  bailiff,  or  other  head- 
officer  aforesaid  (who  are  hereby  authorized  and  empowered  to 
command  all  His  Majesty's  subjects  of  age  and  ability  to  be 
assisting  to  them  therein)  to  seize  and  apprehend,  and  they  are 


The  Septennial  Act  487 

Hereby  required  to  seize  and  apprehend  such  persons  so  unlaw- 
fully, riotously  and  tumultuously  continuing  together  after  proc- 
lamation made,  as  aforesaid,  and  forthwith  to  carry  the  persons 
so  apprehended  before  one  or  more  of  His  Majesty's  justices  of 
the  peace  of  the  county  or  place  where  such  persons  shall  be  so 
apprehended,  in  order  to  their  being  proceeded  against  for  such 
their  offences  according  to  law;  and  that  if  the  persons  so  unlaw- 
fully, riotously,  and  tumultuously  assembled,  or  any  of  them,  shall 
happen  to  be  killed,  maimed  or  hurt,  in  the  dispersing,  seizing 
or  apprehending,  or  endeavouring  to  disperse,  seize  or  appre- 
hend them,  by  reason  of  their  resisting  the  persons  so  dispersing, 
seizing  or  apprehending,  or  endeavouring  to  disperse,  seize  or 
apprehend  them,  that  then  every  such  justice  of  the  peace,  sheriff, 
under-sheriff,  mayor,  bailiff,  head-officer,  high  or  petty  constable, 
or  other  peace-officer,  or  all  and  singular  persons,  being  aiding 
and  assisting  to  them,  or  any  of  them,  shall  be  free,  discharged 
and  indemnified,  as  well  against  the  king's  Majesty,  his  heirs  and 
successors,  as  against  all  and  every  other  person  and  persons, 
of,  for,  or  concerning  the  killing,  maiming,  or  hurting  of  any 
such  person  or  persons  so  unlawfully,  riotously  and  tumultuously 
assembled,  that  shall  happen  to  be  so  killed,  maimed  or  hurt,  as 
aforesaid. 


247.    The  Septennial  Act 

(1716,  April  26.     I  George  I.  stat.  2,  c.  38.     13  S.  L.  283.) 

WHEREAS  in  and  by  act  of  parliament  made  in  the  sixth  year 
of  the  reign  of  their  late  Majesties  king  William  and 
queen  Mary  (of  ever  blessed  memory)  entitled,  An  Act  for  the 
frequent  Meeting  and  Calling  of  Parliaments:  it  was  among 
other  things  enacted,  that  from  thenceforth  no  parliament  what- 
soever, that  should  at  any  time  then  after  be  called,  assembled 
or  held,  should  have  any  continuance  longer  than  for  three  years 
only  at  the  farthest,  to  be  accounted  from  the  day  on  which  by 
the  writ  of  summons  the  said  parliament  should  be  appointed  to 
meet:  and  whereas  it  has  been  found  by  experience,  that  the 
said  clause  hath  proved  very  grievous  and  burdensome,  by  occa- 
sioning much  greater  and  more  continued  expenses  in  order  to 
elections  of  members  to  serve  in  parliament,  and  more  violent 


488  English  Constitutional  Documents 

and  lasting  heats  and  animosities  among  the  subjects  of  this 
realm,  than  were  ever  known  before  the  said  clause  was  enacted; 
and  the  said  provision,  if  it  should  continue,  may  probably  at 
this  juncture,  when  a  restless  and  popish  faction  are  designing 
and  endeavouring  to  renew  the  rebellion  within  this  kingdom,  and 
an  invasion  from  abroad,  be  destructive  to  the  peace  and  security 
of  the  government:  be  it  enacted  by  the  king's  most  excellent 
Majesty,  by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  lords  spiritual 
and  temporal,  and  commons,  in  parliament  assembled,  and  by 
the  authority  of  the  same,  that  this  present  parliament,  and  all 
parliaments  that  shall  at  any  time  hereafter  be  called,  assembled 
or  held,  shall  and  may  respectively  have  continuance  for  seven 
years,  and  no  longer,  to  be  accounted  from  the  day  on  which  by 
the  writ  of  summons  this  present  parliament  hath  been,  or  any 
future  parliament  shall  be,  appointed  to  meet,  unless  this  pres- 
ent, or  any  such  parliament  hereafter  to  be  summoned,  shall  be 
sooner  dissolved  by  His  Majesty,  his  heirs  or  successors. 


248.    The  Peerage  Bill 

(1719,  March  14.     Cobbett's  Parliamentary  History,  vii.  592.) 

1.  THAT    in    lieu    of  the  16  elective  peers,  to   sit    in   this 
house  on  the  part  of  Scotland,  25   peers  to  be  declared  by  his 
Majesty  shall  have  hereditary  seats  in  parliament  and  be  the 
peers  on  the  part  of  the  peerage  of  Scotland. 

2.  That  such  25  peers  shall  be  declared  by  his  Majesty,  before 
the  next  session  of  parliament. 

3.  That  9  of  the  said  25  shall  be  appointed  by  his  Majesty 
to  have  immediate  right  to  such  hereditary  seats  in  parliament, 
subject  to  the  qualifications  requisite  by  the  laws  now  in  being. 

4.  That  none  of  the  remaining  16  so  to  be  declared  by  his 
Majesty,  or  their  heirs,  shall  become  sitting  peers  of  the  parlia- 
ment of  Great  Britain,  until  after  the  determination  of  this  pres- 
ent parliament,  except  such  as  are  of  the  number  of  the  16  peers 
now  sitting  in  parliament  on  the  part  of  Scotland,  and  their 
heirs. 

5.  That  if  any  of  the  25  peers  so  to  be  declared  by  his  Majesty, 
and  their  heirs  shall  fail,  some  one  or  other  of  the  peers  of  Scot- 
land shall  be  appointed  by  his  Majesty,  his  heirs  and  successors, 
to  succeed  to  every  such  peer  so  failing;  and  every  peer  so 


Use  of  English  Language  in  Law  Courts     489 

appointed  shall  be  one  of  the  peers  on  the  part  of  the  peerage  of 
Scotland,  in  the  parliament  of  Great  Britain,  and  so,  toties  quoties, 
as  often  as  such  failure  shall  happen. 

6.  That  the  hereditary  right  of  sitting  in  parliament,  which 
shall  accrue  to  the  25  peers  of  Scotland,  to  be  declared  by  his 
Majesty,  shall  be  so  limited  as  not  to  descend  to  females. 

7.  That  the  number  of  peers  of  Great  Britain,  on  the  part  of 
England,  shall  not  be  enlarged,  without  precedent  right,  beyond 
six  above  what  they  are  at  present;  but  as  any  of  the  said  present 
peers,  or  such  six  new  peers,  in  case  they  be  created,  shall  fail, 
their  numbers  may  be  supplied  by  new  creations  of  commoners 
of  Great  Britain,  born  within  the  kingdom  of  Great  Britain  or 
Ireland,  or  any  of  the  dominions  thereunto  belonging,  or  born  of 
British  parents,  and  so,  toties  quoties,  as  often  as  such  failure  shall 
happen. 

8.  That  no  person  be  at  any  time  created  by  writ,  nor  any 
peerage  granted  by  patent,  for  any  longer  estate  than  for  the 
grantee,  and  the  heirs  male  of  his  body. 

9.  That  there  be  not  any  restraint  upon  the  crown,  from  creat- 
ing any  of  the  princes  of  the  blood,  peers  of  Great  Britain,  with 
right  to  sit  in  parliament. 

10.  That  whenever  those  lords  now  sitting   in   parliament, 
whose  sons  have  been  called  by  writ,  shall  die;  then  it  shall  be 
lawful  for  his  Majesty,  his  heirs  and  successors,  to  create  a  peer 
to  supply  the  number  so  lessened. 

1 1 .  That  every  creation  of  a  peer  hereafter  to  be  made,  con- 
trary to  these  resolutions,  shall  be  null  and  void  to  all  intents  and 
purposes. 


249.    Use  of  English  Language  in  the  Law 
Courts  made  Obligatory 

(1731.     4  George  II.  c.  26.     16  S.  Z.  248.) 

WHEREAS  many  and  great  mischiefs  do  frequently  happen 
to  the  subjects  of  this  kingdom,  from  the  proceedings  in 
courts  of  justice  being  in  an  unknown  language,  those  who  are 
summoned  and  impleaded  having  no  knowledge  or  understanding 
of  what  is  alleged  for  or  against  them  in  the  pleadings  of  their 
lawyers  and  attorneys,  who  use  a  character  not  legible  to  any  but 
persons  practising  the  law:  to  remedy  these  great  mischiefs,  and 


490  English  Constitutional  Documents 

to  protect  the  lives  and  fortunes  of  the  subjects  of  that  part  of 
Great  Britain  called  England,  more  effectually  than  heretofore, 
from  the  peril  of  being  ensnared  or  brought  in  danger  by  forms 
and  proceedings  in  courts  of  justice,  in  an  unknown  language, 
be  it  enacted  by  the  king's  most  excellent  Majesty,  by  and  with 
the  advice  and  consent  of  the  lords  spiritual  and  temporal  and 
commons  of  Great  Britain  in  parliament  assembled,  and  by  the 
authority  of  the  same,  that  from  and  after  the  twenty-fifth  day  of 
March  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  thirty-three,  all  writs, 
process  and  returns  thereof,  and  proceedings  thereon,  and  all 
pleadings,  rules,  orders,  indictments,  informations,  inquisitions, 
presentments,  verdicts,  prohibitions,  certificates,  and  all  patents, 
charters,  pardons,  commissions,  records,  judgments,  statutes, 
recognizances,  bonds,  rolls,  entries,  fines  and  recoveries,  and  all 
proceedings  relating  thereunto,  and  all  proceedings  of  courts  leet, 
courts  baron  and  customary  courts,  and  all  copies  thereof,  and 
all  proceedings  whatsoever,  in  any  courts  of  justice  within  that 
part  of  Great  Britain  called  England,  and  in  the  court  of  ex- 
chequer in  Scotland,  and  -which  concern  the  law  and  administra- 
tion of  justice,  shall  be  in  the  English  tongue  and  language  only, 
and  not  in  Latin  or  French,  or  any  other  tongue  or  language 
whatsoever,  and  shall  be  written  in  such  a  common  legible  hand 
and  character,  as  the  acts  of  parliament  are  usually  engrossed  in, 
and  the  lines  and  words  of  the  same  to  be  written  at  least  as  close 
as  the  said  acts  usually  are,  and  not  in  any  hand  commonly  called 
court  hand,  and  in  words  at  length  and  not  abbreviated;  any  law, 
custom  or  usage  heretofore  to  the  contrary  thereof  notwithstand- 
ing: and  all  and  every  persons  or  persons  offending  against  this 
act,  shall  for  every  such  offence  forfeit  and  pay  the  sum  of  fifty 
pounds  to  any  person  who  shall  sue  for  the  same  by  action  of 
debt,  bill,  plaint  or  information  in  any  of  His  Majesty's  courts 
of  record  in  Westminster  Hall,  or  court  of  exchequer  in  Scotland 
respectively,  wherein  no  essoin,  protection  or  wager  of  law,  or 
more  than  one  imparlance,  shall  be  allowed. 


Judicial  Commissions  not  to  Cease          491 


250.    Judicial  Commissions  not  to  cease  on  the 
Demise  of  the  Crown 

(1760.     i  George  III.  c.  13.    23  S.  L.  292.) 

»  *  »  "DE  it  enacted  by  the  king's  most  excellent  Majesty,  by 
•L)  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  lords  spir- 
itual and  temporal,  and  commons,  in  this  present  parliament 
assembled,  and  by  the  authority  of  the  same,  that  all  persons  who 
were  justices  of  the  peace  at  the  time  of  the  demise  of  His  said 
late  Majesty  king  George  the  Second,  or  who  shall  be  justices  of 
the  peace  at  the  time  of  the  demise  of  His  present  Majesty,  or 
any  of  his  successors,  kings  or  queens  of  this  realm,  or  shall 
afterwards  be  appointed  justices  of  the  peace  by  any  commission 
granted,  or  which  shall  be  granted,  by  his  said  present  Majesty, 
or  which,  after  his  demise,  shall  be  granted  by  any  of  his  suc- 
cessors, kings  or  queens  of  this  realm,  and  who  shall  take  the 
oaths  of  office  of  a  justice  of  the  peace,  for  any  county,  city  and 
county,  town  and  county,  riding,  or  division,  before  the  clerk  of 
the  peace  of  the  respective  county,  city  and  county,  town  and 
county,  riding,  or  division,  for  which  any  such  justice  or  justices 
of  the  peace  shall  act,  or  intend  to  act,  or  the  deputy  of  such 
respective  clerk  of  the  peace,  and  who  shall  have  taken  and  sub- 
scribed at  some  general  or  quarter  sessions  of  the  peace  the  said 
oath,  by  the  said  herein  before  in  part  recited  act,  of  the  eigh- 
teenth year  of  His  said  late  Majesty's  reign,  directed  and  required 
to  be  there  taken  and  subscribed,  shall  and  may  act  as  a  justice 
of  the  peace  for  such  county,  city  and  county,  town  and  county, 
riding,  or  division,  without  being  obliged  to  take  and  subscribe 
again  the  said  oath,  without  incurring  any  penalty  or  forfeiture, 
for  the  not  taking  and  subscribing  thereof;  the  said  hereinbefore 
in  part  recited  act,  or  any  other  statute,  law,  or  usage  to  the  con- 
trary thereof  in  any  wise  notwithstanding:  and  that  all  acts, 
matters,  and  things,  done  or  to  be  done,  by  all  and  every  such 
justice  and  justices,  or  by  authority  derived,  or  to  be  derived, 
from  him  or  them,  are  and  shall  be  deemed  and  taken  to  all 
intents  and  purposes  to  be  of  the  same  force,  effect,  and  validity, 
to  all  intents  and  purposes,  as  the  same  respectively  would  have 
been,  if  such  person  or  persons  had  taken  and  subscribed  such 
oath,  by  the  said  herein  before  in  part  recited  act  required  to  be 


492  English  Constitutional  Documents 

taken  and  subscribed,  at  some  general  or  quarter  sessions  for  such 
county,  city  and  county,  town  and  county,  riding  or  division,  for 
which  he  or  they  did  or  should  act,  or  intend  to  act. 


251.    Camden's  Decision  against  General 
Warrants 

(1763.     19  State  Trials,  1067.) 

*  *  *   TJIS  lordship  then  went  upon  the  warrant,  which  he 

-CJ-  declared  was  a  point  of  the  greatest  consequence 
he  had  ever  met  with  in  his  whole  practice.  The  defendant 
claimed  a  right,  under  precedents,  to  force  persons'  houses, 
break  open  escrutores,  seize  their  papers,  etc.  upon  a  general 
warrant,  where  no  inventory  is  made  of  the  things  thus  taken 
away,  and  where  no  offenders'  names  are  specified  in  the  war- 
rant, and  therefore  a  discretionary  power  given  to  messengers  to 
search  wherever  their  suspicions  may  chance  to  fall.  If  such  a 
power  is  truly  invested  in  a  secretary  of  state,  and  he  can  dele- 
gate this  power,  it  certainly  may  affect  the  person  and  property 
of  every  man  in  this  kingdom,  and  is  totally  subversive  of  the 
liberty  of  the  subject. 

And  as  for  the  precedents,  will  that  be  esteemed  law  in  a  sec- 
retary of  state  which  is  not  law  in  any  other  magistrate  of  this 
kingdom?  If  they  should  be  found  to  be  legal,  they  are  cer- 
tainly of  the  most  dangerous  consequences;  if  not  legal,  must 
aggravate  damages.  *  *  * 

*  *  *  It  is  my  opinion  the  office  precedents,  which  had  been 
produced  since  the  Revolution,  are  no  justification  of  a  practice 
in  itself  illegal,  and  contrary  to  the  fundamental  principles  of 
the  constitution;  though  its  having  been  the  constant  practice  of 
the  office,  might  fairly  be  pleaded  in  mitigation  of  damages. 


Decision  against  General  Warrants          493 

252.    Mansfield's  Decision  against  General 
Warrants 

(1764.     19  State  Trials,  1026-1027.) 
********* 
HPHE  last  point  is,  'whether  this  general  warrant  be  good.' 


At  present  —  as  to  the  validity  of  the  warrant,  upon  the  single 
objection  of  the  incertainty  of  the  person,  being  neither  named 
nor  described  —  the  common  law,  in  many  cases,  gives  authority 
to  arrest  without  warrant;  more  especially,  where  taken  in  the 
very  act :  and  there  are  many  cases  where  particular  acts  oi  par- 
liament have  given  authority  to  apprehend,  under  general  war- 
rants; as  in  the  case  of  writs  of  assistance,  or  warrants  to  take  up 
loose,  idle,  and  disorderly  people.  But  here,  it  is  not  con- 
tended, that  the  common  law  gave  the  officer  authority  to  appre- 
hend; nor  that  there  is  any  act  of  parliament  which  warrants  this 
case. 

Therefore  it  must  stand  upon  principles  of  common  law. 

It  is  not  fit,  that  the  receiving  or  judging  of  the  information 
should  be  left  to  the  discretion  of  the  officer.  The  magistrate 
ought  to  judge;  and  should  give  certain  directions  to  the  officer. 
This  is  so,  upon  reason  and  convenience. 

Then  as  to  authorities  —  Hale  and  all  others  hold  such  an 
uncertain  warrant  void:  and  there  is  no  case  or  book  to  the 
contrary. 

It  is  said  'that  the  usage  has  been  so;  and  that  many  such,  have 
been  issued,  since  the  Revolution,  down  to  this  time.' 

But  a  usage,  to  grow  into  law,  ought  to  be  a  general  usage, 
communiter  usitata  et  approbata ;  and  which,  after  a  long  con- 
tinuance, it  would  be  mischievous  to  overturn. 

This  is  the  only  usage  of  a  particular  office,  and  contrary  to 
the  usage  of  all  other  justices  and  conservators  of  the  peace. 

There  is  the  less  reason  for  regarding  this  usage;  because  the 
form  of  the  warrant  probably  took  its  rise  from  a  positive  statute; 
and  the  former  precedents  were  inadvertently  followed,  after  that 
law  was  expired. 


494          English  Constitutional  Documents 
253.    Somerset's  Case.     Mansfield's  Decision 

(1771.     20  State'  Trials,  82.) 

*  *  *  '"THE  only  question  before  us  is,  whether  the  cause 
J-  on  the  return  [to  a  habeas  corpus]  is  sufficient? 
If  it  is,  the  negro  must  be  remanded;  if  it  is  not,  he  must  be 
discharged.  Accordingly,  the  return  states,  that  the  slave  de- 
parted and  refused  to  serve ;  whereupon  he  was  kept,  to  be  sold 
abroad.  So  high  an  act  of  dominion  must  be  recognized  by  the 
law  of  the  country  where  it  is  used.  The  power  of  a  master  over 
his  slave  has  been  extremely  different,  in  different  countries. 
The  state  of  slavery  is  of  such  a  nature,  that  it  is  incapable  of 
being  introduced  on  any  reasons,  moral  or  political,  but  only  by 
positive  law,  which  preserves  its  force  long  after  the  reasons, 
occasion,  and  time  itself  from  whence  it  was  created,  is  erased 
from  memory.  It  is  so  odious,  that  nothing  can  be  suffered  to 
support  it,  but  positive  law.  Whatever  inconveniences,  there- 
fore, may  follow  from  the  decision,  I  cannot  say  this  case  is 
allowed  or  approved  by  the  law  of  England;  and  therefore  the 
black  must  be  discharged. 


254.    Dunning's  Resolution 

(1780,  April  6.     Resolution  of  the  House  of  Commons.     21  Parliamentary 
History,  347.) 

I.  "THAT  it  is  the   opinion   of  this   committee,    that   it   is 
necessary  to  declare,  that  the   influence   of  the  crown  has  in- 
creased, is  increasing,  and  ought  to  be  diminished." 

II.  "That  it  is  competent  to  this  house,  to  examine  into,  and 
to  correct,  abuses  in  the  expenditure  of  the  civil  list  revenues, 
as  well  as  in  every  other  branch  of  the  public  revenue,  whenever 
it  shall  appear  expedient  to  the  wisdom  of  this  house  so  to  do." 


Fox's  Libel  Act  495 


255.    Dissolution   of  Parliament  does  not 
impair  Impeachment. 

(1790,  December  20.     28  Parliamentary  History,  1035.) 

MR.  BURKE  moved:  "That  it  appears  that  an  impeachment 
by  this  house,  in  the  name  of  the  commons  of  Great 
Britain,  in  the  parliament  assembled,  and  of  all  the  commons  of 
Great  Britain,  against  Warren  Hastings,  Esq.,  late  governor 
general  of  Bengal  for  sundry  high  crimes  and  misdemeanours  is 
now  depending."  Passed. 


256.    Fox's  Libel  Act 

(1792.     32  George  III.  c.  60.     37  S.  L.  627.) 

WHEREAS  doubts  have  arisen  whether  on  the  trial  of  an 
indictment  or  information  for  the  making  or  publishing 
any  libel,  where  an  issue  or  issues  are  joined  between  the  king 
and  the  defendant  or  defendants,  on  the  plea  of  not  guilty 
pleaded,  it  be  competent  to  the  jury  impanelled  to  try  the  same 
to  give  their  verdict  upon  the  whole  matter  in  issue;  be  it  there- 
fore declared  and  enacted  by  the  king's  most  excellent  Majesty, 
by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  lords  spiritual  and 
temporal,  and  commons,  in  this  present  parliament  assembled, 
and  by  the  authority  of  the  same,  that,  on  every  such  trial,  the 
jury  sworn  to  try  the  issue  may  give  a  general  verdict  of  guilty  or 
not  guilty  upon  the  whole  matter  put  in  issue  upon  such  indict- 
ment or  information;  and  shall  not  be  required  or  directed,  by 
the  court  or  judge  before  whom  such  indictment  or  information 
shall  be  tried,  to  find  the  defendant  or  defendants  guilty,  merely 
on  the  proof  of 'the  publication  by  such  defendant  or  defendants 
of  the  paper  charged  to  be  a  libel,  and  of  a  sense  ascribed  to  the 
same  in  such  indictment  or  information. 

II.  Provided  always,  that,  on  every  such  trial,  the  court  or 
judge  before  whom  such  indictment  or  information  shall  be  tried, 
shall,  according  to  their  or  his  discretion,  give  their  or  his  opinion 
and  directions  to  the  jury  on  the  matter  in  issue  between  the  king 


4.96          English  Constitutional  Documents 

and  the  defendant  or  defendants,  in  like  manner  as  in  othel 
criminal  cases. 

III.  Provided  also,  that  nothing  herein  contained  shall  extend, 
or  be  construed  to  extend,  to  prevent  the  jury  from  finding  a 
special  verdict,  in  their  discretion,  as  in  other  criminal  cases. 

IV.  Provided  also,  that  in  case  the  jury  shall  find  the  defendant 
or  defendants  guilty,  it  shall  and  may  be  lawful  for  the  said 
defendant  or  defendants  to  move  an  arrest  of  judgment,  on  such 
ground  and  in  such  manner  as  by  law  he  or  they  might  have  done 
before  the  passing  of  this  act;  anything  herein  contained  to  the 
contrary  notwithstanding. 


257.    Suspension  of  the  Writ  of  Habeas  Corpus 

(1794.     34  George  III.  c.  54.     39  S.  L.  556.) 

WHEREAS  a  traitorous  and  detestable  conspiracy  has  been 
formed  for  subverting  the  existing  laws  and  constitution, 
and  for  introducing  the  system  of  anarchy  and  confusion  which 
has  so  fatally  prevailed  in  France :  therefore,  for  the  better  pres- 
ervation of  His  Majesty's  sacred  person,  and  for  securing  the 
peace  and  the  laws  and  liberties  of  this  kingdom;  be  it  enacted 
by  the  king's  most  excellent  Majesty,  by  and  with  the  advice  and 
consent  of  the  lords  spiritual  and  temporal,  and  commons,  in 
this  present  parliament  assembled,  and  by  the  authority  of  the 
same,  that  every  person  or  persons  that  are  or  shall  be  in  prison 
within  the  kingdom  of  Great  Britain  at  or  upon  the  day  on  which 
this  act  shall  receive  His  Majesty's  royal  assent,  or  after,  by 
warrant  of  His  said  Majesty's  most  honourable  privy  coun- 
cil, signed  by  six  of  the  said  privy  council,  for  high  treason, 
suspicion  of  high  treason,  or  treasonable  practices,  or  by  warrant, 
signed  by  any  of  His  Majesty's  secretaries  of  state,  for  such 
causes  as  aforesaid,  may  be  detained  in  safe  custody,  without 
bail  or  mainprize,  until  the  first  day  of  February  one  thousand 
seven  hundred  and  ninety-five;  and  that  no  judge  or  justice  of 
the  peace  shall  bail  or  try  any  such  person  or  persons  so  com- 
mitted, without  order  from  His  said  Majesty's  privy  council, 
signed  by  six  of  the  said  privy  council,  till  the  said  first  day  of 
February  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  ninety-five;  any  law 
or  statute  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding. 

II.    And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  that 


Act  of  Union  with  Ireland  497 

the  act  made  in  Scotland  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand 
seven  hundred  and  one,  (entitled,  An  Act  for  preventing  wrong- 
ful Imprisonment,  and  against  undue  Delays  in  Trials),  in  so 
far  as  the  same  may  be  construed  to  relate  to  cases  of  treason  and 
suspicion  of  treason,  be  suspended  until  the  first  day  of  Feb- 
ruary one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  ninety-five,  and  that  until 
the  said  day  no  judge,  justice  of  peace,  or  other  officer  of  the 
law  in  Scotland,  shall  liberate,  try,  or  admit  to  bail,  any  person 
or  persons  that  is,  are,  or  shall  be,  in  prison  within  Scotland, 
for  such  causes  as  aforesaid,  without  order  from  His  said  Majesty's 
privy  council,  signed  by  six  of  the  said  privy  council :  provided 
always,  that,  from  and  after  the  said  first  day  of  February  one 
thousand  seven  hundred  and  ninety-five,  the  said  persons  so 
committed  shall  have  the  benefit  and  advantage  of  all  laws  and 
statutes  in  any  way  relating  to  or  providing  for  the  liberty  of  the 
subjects  of  this  realm,  and  that  this  present  act  shall  continue 
until  the  said  first  day  of  February  one  thousand  seven  hundred 
and  ninety-five,  and  no  longer. 

III.  Provided  always,  and  be  it  enacted,  that  nothing  in  this 
act  shall  be  construed  to  extend  to  invalidate  the  ancient  rights 
and  privileges  of  parliament,  or  to  the  imprisonment  or  detain- 
ing of  any  member  of  either  house  of  parliament  during  the  sit- 
ting of  such  parliament,  until  the  matter  of  which  he  stands 
suspected  be  first  communicated  to  the  house  of  which  he  is  a 
member,  and  the  consent  of  the  said  house  obtained  for  his 
commitment  or  detaining. 


258.    Act  of  Union  with  Ireland 

(1800  July  21.     40  George  IIL  c.  67.    42  S.  JL  648.) 

WHEREAS  in  pursuance  of  His  Majesty's  most  gracious  rec- 
ommendation to  the  two  houses  of  parliament  in  Great  Brit- 
ain and  Ireland  respectively  to  consider  of  such  measures  as  might 
best  tend  to  strengthen  and  consolidate  the  connection  between  the 
two  kingdoms,  the  two  houses  of  the  parliament  of  Great  Britain 
and  the  two  houses  of  the  parliament  of  Ireland  have  severally 
agreed  and  resolved,  that,  in  order  to  promote  and  secure  the 
essential  interests  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  and  to  consoli- 
date the  strength,  power,  and  resources  of  the  British  Empire,  it 
will  be  advisable  to  concur  in  such  measures  as  may  best  tend  to 


498  English  Constitutional  Documents 

unite  the  two  kingdoms  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland  into  one 
kingdom,  in  such  manner  and  on  such  terms  and  conditions,  as 
may  be  established  by  the  acts  of  the  respective  parliaments  of 
Great  Britain  and  Ireland. 

And  whereas,  in  furtherance  of  the  said  resolution,  both  houses 
of  the  said  two  parliaments  respectively  have  likewise  agreed 
upon  certain  articles  for  effectuating  and  establishing  the  said 
purposes,  in  the  tenor  following : 

ARTICLE  I 

That  it  be  the  first  article  of  the  union  of  the  kingdoms  of 
Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  that  the  said  kingdoms  of  Great 
Britain  and  Ireland  shall,  upon  the  first  day  of  January  which 
shall  be  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and 
one,  and  forever  after,  be  united  into  one  kingdom,  by  the  name 
of  The  United  Kingdom  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland;  and  that 
the  royal  title  and  titles  appertaining  to  the  imperial  crown  of 
the  said  united  kingdom  and  its  dependencies,  and  also  the 
ensigns,  armorial  flags  and  banners  thereof,  shall  be  such  as  His 
Majesty,  by  his  royal  proclamation  under  the  great  seal  of  the 
united  kingdom,  shall  be  pleased  to  appoint. 

ARTICLE  II 

That  it  be  the  second  article  of  union,  that  the  succession  to 
the  imperial  crown  of  the  said  united  kingdom,  and  of  the 
dominions  thereunto  belonging,  shall  continue  limited  and  settled 
in  the  same  manner  as  the  succession  to  the  imperial  crown  of 
the  said  kingdom  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland  now  stands  lim- 
ited and  settled,  according  to  the  existing  laws,  and  to  the  terms 
of  union  between  England  and  Scotland. 

ARTICLE  III 

That  it  be  the  third  article  of  union,  that  the  said  united  king- 
dom be  represented  in  one  and  the  same  parliament,  to  be  styled 
The  Parliament  of  the  United  Kingdom  of  Great  Britain  and 
Ireland. 

ARTICLE  IV 

That  it  be  the  fourth  article  of  union,  that  four  lords  spiritual 
of  Ireland  by  rotation  of  sessions,  and  twenty-eight  lords  tem- 
poral of  Ireland  elected  for  life  by  the  peers  of  Ireland,  shall  be 


Act  of  Union  with  Ireland  499 

the  number  to  sit  and  vote  on  the  part  of  Ireland  in  the  house  of 
lords  of  the  parliament  of  the  united  kingdom;  and  one  hundred 
commoners  (two  for  each  county  of  Ireland,  two  for  the  city  of 
Dublin,  two  for  the  city  of  Cork,  one  for  the  university  of  Trinity 
College,  and  one  for  each  of  the  thirty-one  most  considerable 
cities,  towns,  and  boroughs),  be  the  number  to  sit  and  vote  on 
the  part  of  Ireland  in  the  house  of  commons  of  the  parliament  of 
the  united  kingdom : 

That  such  act  as  shall  be  passed  in  the  parliament  of  Ireland 
previous  to  the  union,  to  regulate  the  mode  by  which  the  lords 
spiritual  and  temporal,  and  the  commons,  to  serve  in  the  parlia- 
ment of  the  united  kingdom  on  the  part  of  Ireland,  shall  be  sum- 
moned and  returned  to  the  said  parliament,  shall  be  considered 
as  forming  part  of  the  treaty  of  union,  and  shall  be  incorporated 
in  the  acts  of  the  respective  parliaments  by  which  the  said  union 
shall  be  ratified  and  established : 

That  all  questions  touching  the  rotation  or  election  of  lords 
spiritual  or  temporal  of  Ireland  to  sit  in  the  parliament  of  the 
united  kingdom  shall  be  decided  by  the  house  of  lords  thereof; 
and  wherever,  by  reason  of  an  equality  of  votes,  in  the  election 
of  any  such  lords  temporal,  a  complete  election  shall  not  be  made 
according  to  the  true  intent  of  this  article,  the  names  of  those 
peers  for  whom  such  equality  of  votes  shall  be  so  given,  shall  be 
written  on  pieces  of  paper  of  a  similar  form,  and  shall  be  put 
into  a  glass,  by  the  clerk  of  the  parliaments  at  the  table  of  the 
house  of  lords  whilst  the  house  is  sitting;  and  the  peer  or  peers 
whose  name  or  names  shall  be  first  drawn  out  by  the  clerk  of  the 
parliaments,  shall  be  deemed  the  peer  or  peers  elected,  as  the 
case  may  be : 

That  any  person  holding  any  peerage  of  Ireland  now  subsisting, 
or  hereafter  to  be  created,  shall  not  thereby  be  disqualified  from 
being  elected  to  serve  if  he  shall  so  think  fit,  or  from  serving  or 
continuing  to  serve,  if  he  shall  so  think  fit,  for  any  county,  city, 
or  borough  of  Great  Britain,  in  the  house  of  commons  of  the 
united  kingdom,  unless  he  shall  have  been  previously  elected,  as 
above,  to  sit  in  the  house  of  lords  of  the  united  kingdom;  but 
that  so  long  as  such  peer  of  Ireland  shall  so  continue  to  be  a 
member  of  the  house  of  commons,  he  shall  not  be  entitled  to  the 
privilege  of  peerage,  nor  be  capable  of  being  elected  to  serve  as 
a  peer  on  the  part  of  Ireland,  or  of  voting  at  any  such  election; 
and  that  he  shall  be  liable  to  be  sued,  indicted,  proceeded  against, 
and  tried  as  a  commoner,  for  any  offence  with  which  he  may 
be  charged. 


500          English  Constitutional  Documents 

That  it  shall  be  lawful  for  His  Majesty,  his  heirs  and  successors, 
to  create  peers  of  that  part  of  the  united  kingdom  called  Ireland, 
and  to  make  promotions  in  the  peerage  thereof,  after  the  union; 
provided  that  no  new  creation  of  any  such  peers  shall  take  place 
after  the  union  until  three  of  the  peerages  of  Ireland,  which  shall 
have  been  existing  at  the  time  of  the  union,  shall  have  become 
extinct;  and  upon  such  extinction  of  three  peerages,  that  it  shall 
be  lawful  for  His  Majesty,  his  heirs  and  successors,  to  create 
one  peer  of  that  part  of  the  united  kingdom  called  Ireland;  and 
in  like  manner  so  often  as  three  peerages  of  that  part  of  the 
united  kingdom  called  Ireland  shall  become  extinct,  it  shall  be 
lawful  for  His  Majesty,  his  heirs  and  successors,  to  create  one 
other  peer  of  the  said  part  of  the  united  kingdom;  and  if  it  shall 
happen  that  the  peers  of  that  part  of  the  united  kingdom  called 
Ireland,  shall,  by  extinction  of  peerages  or  otherwise,  be  reduced 
to  the  number  of  one  hundred,  exclusive  of  all  such  peers  of  that 
part  of  the  united  kingdom  called  Ireland,  as  shall  hold  any 
peerage  of  Great  Britain  subsisting  at  the  time  of  the  union,  or 
of  the  united  kingdom  created  since  the  union,  by  which  such 
peers  shall  be  entitled  to  an  hereditary  seat  in  the  house  of  lords 
of  the  united  kingdom,  then  and  in  that  case  it  shall  and  may  be 
lawful  for  His  Majesty,  his  heirs  and  successors,  to  create  one 
peer  of  that  part  of  the  united  kingdom  called  Ireland  as  often 
as  any  one  of  such  one  hundred  peerages  shall  fail  by  extinction, 
or  as  often  as  any  one  peer  of  that  part  of  the  united  kingdom 
called  Ireland  shall  become  entitled,  by  descent  or  creation,  to  an 
hereditary  seat  in  the  house  of  lords  of  the  united  kingdom;  it 
being  the  true  intent  and  meaning  of  this  article,  that  at  all 
times  after  the  union  it  shall  and  may  be  lawful  for  His  Majesty, 
.his  heirs  and  successors,  to  keep  up  the  peerage  of  that  part  of 
the  united  kingdom  called  Ireland  to  the  number  of  one  hun- 
dred, over  and  above  the  number  of  such  of  the.  said  peers  as 
shall  be  entitled,  by  descent  or  creation,  to  an  hereditary  seat  in 
the  house  of  lords  of  the  united  kingdom : 

That  if  any  peerage  shall  at  any  time  be  in  abeyance,  such 
peerage  shall  be  deemed  and  taken  as  an  existing  peerage;  and 
no  peerage  shall  be  deemed  extinct,  unless  on  default  of  claim- 
ants to  the  inheritance  of  such  peerage  for  the  space  of  one  year 
from  the  death  of  the  person  who  shall  have  been  last  possessed 
thereof;  and  if  no  claims  shall  be  made  to  the  inheritance  of 
such  peerage,  in  such  form  and  manner  as  may  from  time  to 
time  be  prescribed  by  the  house  of  lords  of  the  united  kingdom, 
before  the  expiration  of  the  said  period  of  a  year,  then  and  in 


Act  of  Union  with  Ireland  501 

that  case  such  peerage  shall  be  deemed  extinct;  provided  that 
nothing  herein  shall  exclude  any  person  from  afterwards  putting 
in  a  claim  to  the  peerage  so  deemed  extinct;  and  if  such  claim 
shall  be  allowed  as  valid,  by  judgment  of  the  house  of  lords  of 
the  united  kingdom,  reported  to  His  Majesty,  such  peerage  shall 
be  considered  as  revived;  and  in  case  any  new  creation  of  a  peer- 
age of  that  part  of  the  united  kingdom  called  Ireland,  shall  have 
taken  place  in  the  interval,  in  consequence  of  the  supposed 
extinction  of  such  peerage,  then  no  new  right  of  creation  shall 
accrue  to  His  Majesty,  his  heirs  or  successors,  in  consequence  of 
the  next  extinction  which  shall  take  place  of  any  peerage  of  that 
part  of  the  united  kingdom  called  Ireland : 

That  all  questions  touching  the  election  of  members  to  sit  on 
the  part  of  Ireland  in  the  house  of  commons  of  the  united  king- 
dom shall  be  heard  and  decided  in  the  same  manner  as  questions 
touching  such  elections  in  Great  Britain  now  are,  or  at  any  time 
hereafter  shall  by  law  be  heard  and  decided;  subject  neverthe- 
less to  such  particular  regulations  in  respect  of  Ireland  as,  from 
local  circumstances,  the  parliament  of  the  united  kingdom  may 
from  time  to  time  deem  expedient : 

That  the  qualifications  in  respect  of  property  of  the  members 
elected  on  the  part  of  Ireland  to  sit  in  the  house  of  commons  of 
the  united  kingdom,  shall  be  respectively  the  same  as  are  now 
provided  by  law  in  the  cases  of  elections  for  counties  and  cities 
and  boroughs  respectively  in  that  part  of  Great  Britain  called 
England,  unless  any  other  provision  shall  hereafter  be  made  in 
that  respect  by  act  of  parliament  of  the  united  kingdom : 

That  when  His  Majesty,  his  heirs  or  successors,  shall  declare 
his,  her,  or  their  pleasure  for  holding  the  first  or  any  subsequent 
parliament  of  the  united  kingdom,  a  proclamation  shall  issue, 
under  the  great  seal  of  the  united  kingdom,  to  cause  the  lords 
spiritual  and  temporal,  and  commons,  who  are  to  serve  in  the 
parliament  thereof  on  the  part  of  Ireland,  to  be  returned  in  such 
manner  as  by  any  act  of  this  present  session  of  the  parliament  of 
Ireland  shall  be  provided;  and  that  the  lords  spiritual  and  tem- 
poral and  commons  of  Great  Britain  shall,  together  with  the 
lords  spiritual  and  temporal  and  commons  so  returned  as  afore- 
said on  the  part  of  Ireland,  constitute  the  two  houses  of  the 
parliament  of  the  united  kingdom : 

That  if  His  Majesty,  on  or  before  the  first  day  of  January  one 
thousand  eight  hundred  and  one,  on  which  day  the  union  is  to 
take  place,  shall  declare,  under  the  great  seal  of  Great  Britain, 
that  it  is  expedient  that  the  lords  and  commons  of  the  present 


502          English  Constitutional  Documents 

parliament  of  Great  Britain  should  be  the  members  of  the  re- 
spective houses  of  the  first  parliament  of  the  united  kingdom 
on  the  part  of  Great  Britain,  then  the  said  lords  and  commons 
of  the  present  parliament  of  Great  Britain  shall  accordingly  be 
the  members  of  the  respective  houses  of  the  first  parliament  of 
the  united  kingdom  on  the  part  of  Great  Britain;  and  they, 
together  with  the  lords  spiritual  and  temporal  and  commons,  so 
summoned  and  returned  as  above  on  the  part  of  Ireland,  shall  be 
the  lords  spiritual  and  temporal  and  commons  of  the  first  parlia- 
ment of  the  united  kingdom;  and  such  first  parliament  may  (in 
that  case)  if  not  sooner  dissolved,  continue  to  sit  so  long  as  the 
present  parliament  of  Great  Britain  may  now  by  law  continue  to 
sit,  if  not  sooner  dissolved:  provided  always,  that  until  an  act 
shall  have  passed  in  the  parliament  of  the  united  kingdom,  pro- 
viding in  what  cases  persons  holding  offices  or  places  of  profit 
under  the  crown  in  Ireland  shall  be  incapable  of  being  members 
of  the  house  of  commons  of  the  parliament  of  the  united  king- 
dom, no  greater  number  of  members  than  twenty,  holding  such 
offices  or  places,  as  aforesaid,  shall  be  capable  of  sitting  in  the 
said  house  of  commons  of  the  parliament  of  the  united  kingdom; 
and  if  such  a  number  of  members  shall  be  returned  to  serve  in 
the  said  house  as  to  make  the  whole  number  of  members  of  the 
said  house  holding  such  office  or  place  as  aforesaid  more  than 
twenty,  then  and  in  such  case  the  seats  or  places  of  such  mem- 
bers as  shall  have  last  accepted  such  offices  or  places  shall  be 
vacated,  at  the  option  of  such  members,  so  as  to  reduce  the 
number  of  members  holding  such  offices  or  places  to  the  number 
of  twenty;  and  no  person  holding  any  such  office  or  place  shall 
be  capable  of  being  elected  or  of  sitting  in  the  said  house, 
"while  there  are  twenty  persons  holding  such  offices  or  places  sit- 
ting in  the  said  house;  and  that  every  one  of  the  lords  of  parlia- 
ment of  the  united  kingdom,  and  every  member  of  the  house  of 
commons  of  the  united  kingdom,  in  the  first  and  all  succeeding 
parliaments,  shall,  until  the  parliament  of  the  united  kingdom 
shall  otherwise  provide,  take  the  oaths,  and  make  and  subscribe 
the  declaration,  and  take  and  subscribe  the  oath  now  by  law 
enjoined  to  be  taken,  made,  and  subscribed  by  the  lords  and 
commons  of  the  parliament  of  Great  Britain : 

That  the  lords  of  parliament  on  the  part  of  Ireland,  in  the 
house  of  lords  of  the  united  kingdom,  shall  at  all  times  have  the 
same  privileges  of  parliament  which  shall  belong  to  the  lords  of 
parliament  on  the  part  of  Great  Britain;  and  the  lords  spiritual 
and  temporal  respectively  on  the  part  of  Ireland  shall  at  all  times 


Act  of  Union  with   Ireland  503 

have  the  same  rights  in  respect  of  their  sitting  and  voting  upon 
the  trial  of  peers,  as  the  lords  spiritual  and  temporal  respectively 
on  the  part  of  Great  Britain ;  and  that  all  lords  spiritual  of  Ireland 
shall  have  rank  and  precedency  next  and  immediately  after  the 
lords  spiritual  of  the  same  rank  and  degree  of  Great  Britain,  and 
shall  enjoy  all  privileges  as  fully  as  the  lords  spiritual  of  Great 
Britain  do  now  or  may  hereafter  enjoy  the  same  (the  right  and 
privilege  of  sitting  in  the  house  of  lords,  and  the  privileges  de- 
pending thereon,  and  particularly  the  right  of  sitting  on  the  trial 
of  peers,  excepted) ;  and  that  the  persons  holding  any  temporal 
peerages  of  Ireland,  existing  at  the  time  of  the  union,  shall, 
from  and  after  the  union,  have  rank  and  precedency  next  and 
immediately  after  all  the  persons  holding  peerages  of  the  like 
orders  and  degrees  in  Great  Britain,  subsisting  at  the  time  of  the 
union;  and  that  all  peerages  of  Ireland  created  after  the  union 
shall  have  rank  and  precedency  with  the  peerages  of  the  united 
kingdom,  so  created,  according  to  the  dates  of  their  creations; 
and  that  all  peerages  both  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  now  sub- 
sisting or  hereafter  to  be  created,  shall  in  all  other  respects,  from 
the  date  of  the  union,  be  considered  as  peerages  of  the  united 
kingdom;  and  that  the  peers  of  Ireland  shall,  as  peers  of  the 
united  kingdom,  be  sued  and  tried  as  peers,  except  as  aforesaid, 
and  shall  enjoy  all  privileges  of  peers  as  fully  as  the  peers  of 
Great  Britain;  the  right  and  privilege  of  sitting  in  the  house 
of  lords,  and  the  privileges  depending  thereon,  and  the  right  of 
sitting  on  the  trial  of  peers,  only  excepted : 

ARTICLE  V 

That  it  be  the  fifth  article  of  union,  that  the  churches  of  Eng- 
land and  Ireland,  as  now  by  law  established,  be  united  into  one 
protestant  episcopal  church,  to  be  called,  The  United  Church  of 
England  and  Ireland;  and  that  the  doctrine,  worship,  discipline, 
and  government  of  the  said  united  church  shall  be,  and  shall 
remain  in  full  force  forever,  as  the  same  are  now  by  law  estab- 
lished for  the  church  of  England;  and  that  the  continuance  and 
preservation  of  the  said  united  church,  as  the  established  church 
of  England  and  Ireland,  shall  be  deemed  and  taken  to  be  an 
essential  and  fundamental  part  of  the  union;  and  that  in  like 
manner  the  doctrine,  worship,  discipline,  and  government  of  the 
church  of  Scotland  shall  remain  and  be  preserved  as  the  same 
are  now  established  by  law,  and  by  the  act  for  the  union  of  the 
two  kingdoms  of  England  and  Scotland. 


504          English  Constitutional  Documents 


ARTICLE  VI 

That  it  be  the  sixth  article  of  union,  that  His  Majesty's  sub- 
jects of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland  shall,  from  and  after  the  first 
day  of  January  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  one,  be  entitled 
to  the  same  privileges,  and  be  on  the  same  footing,  as  to  encour- 
agements and  bounties  on  the  like  articles  being  the  growth, 
produce,  or  manufacture  of  either  country  respectively,  and  gen- 
erally in  respect  of  trade  and  navigation  in  all  ports  and  places  in 
the  united  kingdom  and  its  dependencies;  and  that  in  all  treaties 
made  by  His  Majesty,  his  heirs  and  successors,  with  any  foreign 
power,  His  Majesty's  subjects  of  Ireland  shall  have  the  same 
privileges,  and  be  on  the  same  footing,  as  His  Majesty's  subjects 
of  Great  Britain : 

That,  from  the  first  day  of  January  one  thousand  eight  hundred 
and  one,  all  prohibitions  and  bounties  on  the  export  of  articles, 
the  growth,  produce,  or  manufacture  of  either  country,  to  the 
other,  shall  cease  and  determine;  and  that  the  said  articles  shall 
thenceforth  be  exported  from  one  country  to  the  other,  without 
duty  or  bounty  on  such  export : 

That  all  articles,  the  growth,  produce,  or  manufacture  of  either 
country,  (not  hereinafter  enumerated  as  subject  to  specific 
duties,)  shall  from  thenceforth  be  imported  into  each  country 
from  the  other,  free  from  duty,  other  than  such  countervailing 
duties  on  the  several  articles  enumerated  in  the  schedule  number 
one  A.  and  B.  hereunto  annexed,  as  are  therein  specified,  or  to 
such  other  countervailing  duties  as  shall  hereafter  be  imposed  by 
the  parliament  of  the  united  kingdom,  in  the  manner  hereinafter 
•  provided;  and  that,  for  the  period  of  twenty  years  from  the 
union,  the  articles  enumerated  in  the  schedule  number  two  here- 
unto annexed,  shall  be  subject,  on  importation  into  each  country 
from  the  other,  to  the  duties  specified  in  the  said  schedule  num- 
ber two;  and  the  woollen  manufactures,  known  by  the  names  of 
old  and  new  drapery,  shall  pay,  on  importation  into  each  country 
from  the  other,  the  duties  now  payable  on  importation  into  Ire- 
land; salt  and  hops,  on  importation  into  Ireland  from  Great 
Britain,  duties  not  exceeding  those  which  are  now  paid  on  impor- 
tation into  Ireland;  and  coals,  on  importation  into  Ireland  from 
Great  Britain,  shall  be  subject  to  burdens  not  exceeding  those  to 
which  they  are  now  subject:  *  *  * 


Act  of  Union  with  Ireland  505 


AKTICLE  vm 

That  it  be  the  eighth  article  of  onion,  that  all  laws  in  force  at 
the  time  of  the  union,  and  all  the  courts  of  civil  and  ecclesiastical 
jurisdiction  within  the  respective  kingdoms,  shall  remain  as  now 
by  law  established  within  the  same,  subject  only  to  such  altera- 
tions and  regulations  from  time  to  time  as  circumstances  may 
appear  to  the  parliament  of  the  united  kingdom  to  require;  pro- 
vided that  all  writs  of  error  and  appeals,  depending  at  the  time 
of  the  union  or  hereafter  to  be  brought,  and  which  might  now  be 
finally  decided  by  the  house  of  lords  of  either  kingdom,  shall, 
from  and  after  the  union,  be  finally  decided  by  the  house  of 
lords  of  the  united  kingdom;  and  provided  that,  from  and  after 
the  union,  there  shall  remain  in  Ireland  an  instance  court  of 
admiralty,  for  the  determination  of  causes,  civil  and  maritime 
only,  and  that  the  appeal  from  sentences  of  the  said  court  shall 
be  to  His  Majesty's  delegates  in  his  court  of  chancery  in  that 
part  of  the  united  kingdom  called  Ireland;  and  that  all  laws  at 
present  in  force  in  either  kingdom,  which  shall  be  contrary  to 
any  of  the  provisions  which  may  be  enacted  by  any  act  for  carry- 
ing these  articles  into  effect,  be  from  and  after  the  union  repealed. 

And  whereas  the  said  articles  having,  by  address  of  the  respec- 
tive houses  of  parliament  in  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  been  hum- 
bly laid  before  His  Majesty,  His  Majesty  has  been  graciously 
pleased  to  approve  the  same ;  and  to  recommend  it  to  his  two 
houses  of  parliament  in  Great  Britain  and  Ireland  to  consider  of 
such  measures  as  may  be  necessary  for  giving  effect  to  the  said 
articles :  in  order,  therefore,  to  give  full  effect  and  validity  to  the 
same,  be  it  enacted  by  the  king's  most  excellent  Majesty,  by  and 
with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  lords  spiritual  and  temporal, 
and  commons,  in  this  present  parliament  assembled,  and  by  the 
authority  of  the  same,  that  the  said  foregoing  recited  articles,  each 
and  every  of  them,  according  to  the  true  import  and  tenor  thereof, 
be  ratified,  confirmed,  and  approved,  and  be  and  they  are  hereby 
declared  to  be  the  articles  of  the  Union  of  Great  Britain  and  Ire- 
land, and  the  same  shall  be  in  force  and  have  effect  for  ever,  from 
the  first  day  of  January  which  shall  be  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one 
thousand  eight  hundred  and  one ;  provided  that  before  that  period 
an  act  shall  have  been  passed  by  the  parliament  of  Ireland,  for 
carrying  into  effect,  in  the  like  manner,  the  said  foregoing  recited 
articles. 


506          English  Constitutional  Documents 

II.  [Clause    regulating    the   election  of  representative   peers 
and  members  of  the  house  of  commons  for  Ireland.] 

III.  And  be  it  enacted,  that  the  great  seal  of  Ireland  may,  if 
His  Majesty  shall  so  think  fit,  after  the  union,  be  used  in  like  man- 
ner as  before  the  union,  except  where  it  is  otherwise  provided  by 
the  foregoing  articles,  within  that  part  of  the  united  kingdom 
called  Ireland ;   and  that  His  Majesty  may,  so  long  as  he  shall 
think  fit,  continue  the  privy  council  of  Ireland  to  be  his  privy 
council  for  that  part  of  the  united  kingdom  called  Ireland. 


259.    Abolition  of  the  Negro  Slave  Trade 

(1807,  March  25.    47  George  III.  c.  36.    47  5.  Z.  140.) 

WHEREAS  the  two  houses  of  parliament  did,  by  their  reso- 
lutions of  the  tenth  and  twenty-fourth  days  of  July  one 
thousand  eight  hundred  and  six,  severally  resolve,  upon  certain 
grounds  therein  mentioned,  that  they  would,  with  all  practicable 
expedition,  take  effectual  measures  for  the  abolition  of  the  Afri- 
can slave  trade,  in  such  manner,  and  at  such  period,  as  might  be 
deemed  advisable;  and  whereas  it  is  fit  upon  all  and  each  of 
the  grounds  mentioned  in  the  said  resolutions,  that  the  same 
should  be  forthwith  abolished  and  prohibited,  and  declared  to 
be  unlawful:  be  it  therefore  enacted  by  the  king's  most  excellent 
Majesty,  by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  lords  spiritual 
and  temporal,  and  commons,  in  this  present  parliament  assem- 
bled, and  by  the  authority  of  the  same,  that  from  and  after  the 
first  day  of  May  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  seven,  the  Afri- 
can slave  trade,  and  all  and  all  manner  of  dealing  and  trading  in 
the  purchase,  sale,  barter,  or  transfer  of  slaves,  or  of  persons 
intended  to  be  sold,  transferred,  used,  or  dealt  with  as  slaves, 
practised  or  carried  on,  in,  at,  to,  or  from  any  part  of  the  coast 
or  countries  of  Africa,  shall  be,  and  the  same  is  hereby  utterly 
abolished,  prohibited,  and  declared  to  be  unlawful;  and  also  that 
all  and  all  manner  of  dealing,  either  by  way  of  purchase,  sale, 
barter,  or  transfer,  or  by  means  of  any  other  contract  or  agree- 
ment whatever,  relating  to  any  slaves,  or  to  any  persons  intended 
to  be  used  or  dealt  with  as  slaves,  for  the  purpose  of  such  slaves 
or  persons  being  removed  or  transported  either  immediately  or 
by  transhipment  at  sea  or  otherwise,  directly  or  indirectly  from 


Disfranchisement  of  Grampound  507 

Africa,  or  from  any  island,  country,  territory,  or  place  whatever, 
in  the  West  Indies,  or  in  any  other  part  of  America,  not  being  in 
the  dominion,  possession,  or  occupation  of  His  Majesty,  to  any 
other  island,  country,  territory,  or  place  whatever,  is  hereby  in 
like  manner  utterly  abolished,  prohibited,  and  declared  to  be 
unlawful;  *  *  * 


260.    Disfranchisement  of  Grampound 

(1821,  June  8.     I  &  2  George  IV.  c.  47.    59  S.  Z.  103.) 

WHEREAS  there  was  the  most  notorious  and  general  bribery 
and  corruption  previous  to  the  election  of  burgesses  to  serve 
in  the  last  parliament  for  the  borough  of  Grampound,  in  the 
county  of  Cornwall,  in  order  to  procure  the  return  of  burgesses  to 
serve  in  parliament  for  the  said  borough,  and  it  should  therefore 
be  excluded  from  hereafter  returning  burgesses  to  serve  in  parlia- 
ment :  and  whereas  it  is  expedient  that  two  additional  knights  of 
the  shire  should  be  returned  for  the  county  of  York  to  serve  in  par- 
liament in  lieu  of  two  burgesses  for  the  borough  of  Grampound: 
may  it  therefore  please  Your  Majesty  that  it  may  be  enacted,  and 
be  it  enacted  by  the  king's  most  excellent  Majesty,  by  and  with 
the  advice  and  consent  of  the  lords  spiritual  and  temporal,  and 
commons,  in  this  present  parliament  assembled,  and  by  the 
authority  of  the  same,  that  the  borough  of  Grampound,  in  the 
county  of  Cornwall,  shall  cease  to  elect  and  return  burgesses  to 
serve  in  the  high  court  of  parliament. 

II.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  that  if,  during  the  present  par- 
liament, the  election  of  the  two  burgesses  now  serving  therein 
for  the  same  borough  of  Grampound  or  either  of  them,  shall  by 
death  or  otherwise  become  void,  then  and  in  every  such  case  an 
additional  knight  or  knights  shall  be  returned  to  serve  in  the 
high  court  of  parliament  for  the  county  of  York;  and  that  from 
the  end  of  the  present  parliament,  and  at  all  times  thereafter,  the 
said  county  of  York  shall  return,  to  serve  in  the  high  court  of 
parliament,  four  knights  of  the  shire  instead  of  two  knights  of  the 
shire,  as  the  said  county  has  heretofore  returned;  the  said 
knights  respectively  to  be  elected  and  chosen  by  virtue  of  Your 
Majesty's  writ,  to  be  awarded  by  the  lord  chancellor  or  lord 
keeper  of  the  great  seal  of  that  part  of  the  united  kingdom  called 
Great  Britain  for  the  time  being,  in  that  behalf  to  the  sheriff  of 


508          English  Constitutional  Documents 

the  county  of  York;  and  the  said  knights  to  be  elected  and  re- 
turned in  the  same  manner,  to  all  intents  and  purposes,  as  knights 
have  been  heretofore  returned  for  the  county  of  York. 


261.    Repeal  of  Corporation  and  Test  Acts 

(1828,  May  9.     9  George  IV.  c.  17.     65  S.  L.  22.) 

WHEREAS  an  act  was  passed  in  the  thirteenth  year  of  the 
reign  of  King  Charles  the  Second,  entitled,  An  Act  for  the 
well  governing  and  regulating  of  Corporations:  and  whereas 
another  act  was  passed  in  the  twenty-fifth  year  of  the  reign  of 
King  Charles  the  Second,  entitled,  An  Act  for  preventing  Dangers 
which  may  happen  from  Popish  Recusants :  and  whereas  another 
act  was  passed  in  the  sixteenth  year  of  the  reign  of  King  George 
the  Second,  entitled,  An  Act  to  indemnify  Persons  who  have 
omitted  to  qualify  themselves  for  Offices  and  Employments  within 
the  Time  limited  by  Law,  and  for  allowing  further  Time  for  that 
Purpose,  and  also  for  amending  so  much  of  an  Act  made  in  the 
twenty-fifth  Year  of  the  Reign  of  King  Charles  the  Second, 
entitled,  An  Act  for  preventing  Dangers  which  may  happen  from 
Popish  Recusants,  as  related  to  the  Time  for  receiving  the  Sac- 
rament of  the  Lord's  Supper  now  limited  by  the  said  Act:  and 
whereas  it  is  expedient  that  so  much  of  the  said  several  acts  of 
parliament  as  imposes  the  necessity  of  taking  the  sacrament  of 
the  Lord's  Supper  according  to  the  rites  or  usage  of  the  Church 
of  England,  for  the  purposes  therein  respectively  mentioned, 
should  be  repealed;  be  it  therefore  enacted  by  the  king's  most 
excellent  Majesty,  by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  lords 
spiritual  and  temporal,  and  commons,  in  this  present  parliament 
assembled,  and  by  the  authority  of  the  same,  that  so  much  and 
such  parts  of  the  said  several  acts  passed  in  the  thirteenth  and 
twenty-fifth  years  of  the  reign  of  King  Charles  the  Second,  and  of 
the  said  act  passed  in  the  sixteenth  year  of  the  reign  of  King 
George  the  Second,  as  require  the  person  or  persons  in  the  said 
acts  respectively  described  to  take  or  receive  the  sacrament  of 
the  Lord's  Supper  according  to  the  rites  or  usage  of  the  Church 
of  England,  for  the  several  purposes  therein  expressed,  or  to 


Repeal  of  Corporation  and  Test  Acts        509 

deliver  a  certificate  or  to  make  proof  of  the  truth  of  such  his  or 
their  receiving  the  said  sacrament  in  manner  aforesaid,  or  as 
impose  upon  any  such  person  or  persons  any  penalty,  forfeiture, 
incapacity,  or  disability  whatsoever  for  or  by  reason  of  any 
neglect  or  omission  to  take  or  receive  the  said  sacrament,  within 
the  respective  periods  and  in  the  manner  in  the  said  acts  respec- 
tively provided  in  that  behalf,  shall,  from  and  immediately  after 
the  passing  of  this  act,  be  and  the  same  are  hereby  repealed. 

II.  And  whereas  the  Protestant  episcopal  Church  of  England 
and  Ireland,  and  the  doctrine,  discipline,  and  government 
thereof,  and  the  Protestant  presbyterian  Church  of  Scptland,  and 
the  doctrine,  discipline,  and  government  thereof,  are  by  the  laws 
of  this  realm  severally  established,  permanently  and  inviolably : 
and  whereas  it  is  just  and  fitting,  that  on  the  repeal  of  such 
parts  of  the  said  acts  as  impose  the  necessity  of  taking  the  sac- 
rament of  the  Lord's  Supper  according  to  the  rites  or  usage  of  the 
Church  of  England  as  a  qualification  for  office,  a  declaration  to 
the  following  effect  should  be  substituted  in  lieu  thereof;  be  it 
therefore  enacted,  that  every  person  who  shall  hereafter  be  placed, 
elected,  or  chosen  in  or  to  the  office  of  mayor,  alderman,  recorder, 
bailiff,  town  clerk  or  common  councilman,  or  in  or  to  any  office 
of  magistracy,  or  place,  trust,  or  employment  relating  to  the  gov- 
ernment of  any  city,  corporation,  borough,  or  cinque  port  within 
England  and  Wales,  or  the  town  of  Berwick-upon-Tweed,  shall, 
within  one  calendar  month  next  before  or  upon  his  admission 
into  any  of  the  aforesaid  offices  or  trusts,  make  and  subscribe  the 
declaration  following: 

'  I,  A.  B.,  do  solemnly  and  sincerely,  in  the  presence  of  God, 
profess,  testify,  and  declare,  upon  the  true  faith  of  a  Christian, 
that  I  will  never  exercise  any  power,  authority,  or  influence  which 
I  may  possess  by  virtue  of  the  office  of  to  injure  or  weaken 

the  Protestant  church  as  it  is  by  law  established  in  England,  or 
to  disturb  the  said  church,  or  the  bishops  and  clergy  of  the  said 
church,  in  the  possession  of  any  rights  or  privileges  to  which  such 
church,  or  the  said  bishops  and  clergy,  are  or  may  be  by  law 
entitled.' 


510          English  Constitutional  Documents 
262.    Catholic  Emancipation  Act 

(1829,  April  13.     10  George  IV.  c.  7.    65  S.  L.  pt.  2,  p.  49.) 

WHEREAS  by  various  acts  of  parliament  certain  restraints 
and  disabilities  are  imposed  on  the  Roman  Catholic  sub- 
jects of  His  Majesty,  to  which  other  subjects  of  His  Majesty  are 
not  liable :  and  whereas  it  is  expedient  that  such  restraints  and 
disabilities  shall  be  from  henceforth  discontinued :  and  whereas 
by  various  acts  certain  oaths  and  certain  declarations,  commonly 
called  the  declaration  against  transubstantiation,  and  the  declara- 
tion against  transubstantiation  and  the  invocation  of  saints  and 
the  sacrifice  of  the  mass,  as  practised  in  the  Church  of  Rome, 
are  or  may  be  required  to  be  taken,  made,  and  subscribed  by  the 
subjects  of  His  Majesty,  as  qualifications  for  sitting  and  voting 
in  parliament,  and  for  the  enjoyment  of  certain  offices,  fran- 
chises, and  civil  rights:  be  it  enacted  by  the  king's  most  excel- 
lent Majesty,  by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  lords 
spiritual  and  temporal,  and  commons,  in  this  present  parliament 
assembled,  and  by  the  authority  of  the  same,  that  from  and  after 
the  commencement  of  this  act  all  such  parts  of  the  said  acts  as 
require  the  said  declarations,  or  either  of  them,  to  be  made  or 
subscribed  by  any  of  His  Majesty's  subjects,  as  a  qualification  for 
sitting  and  voting  in  parliament,  or  for  the  exercise  or  enjoyment 
of  any  office,  franchise,  or  civil  right,  be  and  the  same  are  (save 
as  hereinafter  provided  and  excepted)  hereby  repealed. 

II.  And  be  it  enacted,  that  from  and  after  the  commencement 
of  this  act  it  shall  be  lawful  for  any  person  professing  the  Roman 
Catholic  religion,  being  a  peer,  or  who  shall  after  the  commence- 
ment of  this  act  be  returned  as  a  member  of  the  house  of  com- 
mons, to  sit  and  vote  in  either  house  of  parliament  respectively, 
being  in  all  other  respects  duly  qualified  to  sit  and  vote  therein, 
upon  taking  and  subscribing  the  following  oath,  instead  of  the 
oaths  of  allegiance,  supremacy,  and  abjuration: 

'  I,  A.  B.,  do  sincerely  promise  and  swear,  that  I  will  be  faithful 
and  bear  true  allegiance  to  His  Majesty  King  George  the  Fourth, 
and  will  defend  him  to  the  utmost  of  my  power  against  all  con- 
spiracies and  attempts  whatever,  which  shall  be  made  against  his 
person,  crown,  or  dignity;  and  I  will  do  my  utmost  endeavour  to 
disclose  and  make  known  to  His  Majesty,  his  heirs  and  succes- 
sors, all  treasons  and  traitorous  conspiracies  which  may  be  formed 
against  him  or  them:  and  I  do  faithfully  promise  to  maintain, 


Catholic  Emancipation  Act  511 

support,  and  defend,  to  the  utmost  of  my  power,  the  succession 
of  the  crown,  which  succession,  by  an  act,  entitled,  An  Act  for 
the  further  Limitation  of  the  Crown,  and  better  securing  the  Rights 
and  Liberties  of  the  Subject,  is  and  stands  limited  to  the  princess 
Sophia,  electress  of  Hanover,  and  the  heirs  of  her  body,  being 
Protestants;  hereby  utterly  renouncing  and  abjuring  any  obedi- 
ence or  allegiance  unto  any  other  person  claiming  or  pretending 
a  right  to  the  crown  of  this  realm :  and  I  do  further  declare,  that 
it  is  not  an  article  of  my  faith,  and  that  I  do  renounce,  reject, 
and  abjure  the  opinion,  that  princes  excommunicated  or  deprived 
by  the  pope,  or  any  other  authority  of  the  see  of  Rome,  may  be 
deposed  or  murdered  by  their  subjects,  or  by  any  person  what- 
soever :  and  I  do  declare,  that  I  do  not  believe  that  the  pope  of 
Rome,  or  any  other  foreign  prince,  prelate,  person,  state,  or 
potentate,  hath  or  ought  to  have  any  temporal  or  civil  jurisdic- 
tion, power,  superiority,  or  preeminence,  directly  or  indirectly, 
within  this  realm.  I  do  swear,  that  I  will  defend  to  the  utmost 
of  my  power  the  settlement  of  property  within  this  realm,  as 
established  by  the  laws :  and  I  do  hereby  disclaim,  disavow,  and 
solemnly  abjure  any  intention  to  subvert  the  present  church  estab- 
lishment, as  settled  by  law  within  this  realm :  and  I  do  solemnly 
swear,  that  I  will  never  exercise  any  privilege  to  which  I  am  or 
may  become  entitled,  to  disturb  or  weaken  the  Protestant  religion 
or  Protestant  government  in  the  united  kingdom :  and  I  do  sol- 
emnly, in  the  presence  of  God,  profess,  testify,  and  declare,  that 
I  do  make  this  declaration,  and  every  part  thereof,  in  the  plain 
and  ordinary  sense  of  the  words  of  this  oath,  without  any  evasion, 
equivocation,  or  mental  reservation  whatsoever. 

So  help  me  God.' 

III.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  that  wherever,  in  the  oath  here 
appointed  and  set  forth,  the  name  of  His  present  Majesty  is 
expressed  or  referred  to,  the  name  of  the  sovereign  of  this  king- 
dom for  the  time  being,  by  virtue  of  the  act  for  the  further  lim- 
itation of  the  crown  and  better  securing  the  right  and  liberties 
of  the  subject,   shall  be  substituted  from  time  to  time,   with 
proper  words  of  reference  thereto. 

IV.  Provided  always,  and  be  it  further  enacted,  that  no  peer 
professing  the  Roman  Catholic  religion,  and  no  person  professing 
the  Roman  Catholic  religion,  who  shall  be  returned  a  member 
of  the  house  of  commons  after  the  commencement  of  this  act, 
shall  be  capable  of  sitting  or  voting  in  either  house  of  parlia- 
ment respectively,  unless  he  shall  first  take  and  subscribe  the  oath 
hereinbefore  appointed  and  set  forth,  before  the  same  persons,  at 


512  English  Constitutional  Documents 

the  same  times  and  places,  and  in  the  same  manner  as  the  oaths 
and  the  declaration  now  required  by  law  are  respectively  directed 
to  be  taken,  made,  and  subscribed;  and  that  any  such  person 
professing  the  Roman  Catholic  religion,  who  shall  sit  or  vote  in 
either  house  of  parliament,  without  having  first  taken  and  sub- 
scribed, in  the  manner  aforesaid,  the  oath  in  this  act  appointed 
and  set  forth,  shall  be  subject  to  the  same  penalties,  forfeitures, 
and  disabilities,  and  the  offence  of  so  sitting  or  voting  shall  be 
followed  and  attended  by  and  with  the  same  consequences,  as 
are  by  law  enacted  and  provided  in  the  case  of  persons  sitting 
or  voting  in  either  house  of  parliament  respectively,  without  the 
taking,  making,  and  subscribing  the  oaths  and  the  declaration 
now  required  by  law. 

V.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  that  it  shall  be  lawful  for  per- 
sons professing  the  Roman  Catholic  religion  to  vote  at  elections 
of  members  to  serve  in  parliament  for  England  and  for  Ireland, 
and  also  to  vote  at  the  elections  of  representative  peers  of  Scot- 
land and  of  Ireland,  and  to  be  elected  such  representative  peers, 
being  in  all  other  respects  duly  qualified,  upon  taking  and  sub- 
scribing the  oath  hereinbefore  appointed  and  set  forth,  instead 
of   the   oaths   of   allegiance,    supremacy,    and   abjuration,    and 
instead  of  the  declaration  now  by  law  required,  and  instead  also 
of  such  other  oath  or  oaths  as  are  now  by  law  required  to  be 
taken  by  any  of  His  Majesty's  subjects  professing  the  Roman 
Catholic  religion,  and  upon  taking  also  such  other  oath  or  oaths 
as  may  now  be  lawfully  tendered  to  any  persons  offering  to  vote 
at  such  elections. 

VI,  VII.    [The  administration  of  the  oath.] 

VIII.    [Allowing  Roman  Catholics  to  vote  and  be  elected  in 
Scotland.] 


IX.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  that  no  person  in  holy  orders 
in  the  Church  of  Rome  shall  be  capable  of  being  elected  to  serve 
in  parliament  as  a  member  of  the  house  of  commons;  and  if  any 
such  person  shall  be  elected  to  serve  in  parliament  as  aforesaid, 
such  election  shall  be  void;  and  if  any  person,  being  elected  to 
serve  in  parliament  as  a  member  of  the  house  of  commons,  shall, 
after  his  election,  take  or  receive  holy  orders  in  the  Church  of 
Rome,  the  seat  of  such  person  shall  immediately  become  void; 
and  if  any  such  person  shall,  in  any  of  the  cases  aforesaid,  pre- 
sume to  sit  or  vote  as  a  member  of  the  house  of  commons,  he 
shall  be  subject  to  the  same  penalties,  forfeitures,  and  disabili- 


Catholic  Emancipation  Act  513 

ties  as  are  enacted  by  an  act  passed  in  the  forty-first  year  of  the 
reign  of  King  George  the  Third,  entitled  An  Act  to  remove  Doubts 
respecting  the  Eligibility  of  Persons  in  Holy  Orders  to  sit  in  the 
House  of  Commons;  and  proof  of  the  celebration  of  any  religious 
service  by  such  person,  according  to  the  rites  of  the  Church  of 
Rome,  shall  be  deemed  and  taken  to  be  primd  facie  evidence  of 
the  fact  of  such  person  being  in  holy  orders,  within  the  intent 
and  meaning  of  this  act. 

X.  And  be  it  enacted,  that  it  shall  be  lawful  for  any  of  His 
Majesty's  subjects  professing  the   Roman  Catholic  religion  to 
hold,  exercise,  and  enjoy  all  civil  and  military  offices  and  places 
of  trust  or  profit  under  His  Majesty,  his  heirs  or  successors,  and 
to  exercise  any  other  franchise  or  civil  right,  except  as  herein- 
after excepted,  upon  taking  and  subscribing,  at  the  times  and  in 
the  manner  hereinafter  mentioned,  the  oath  hereinbefore  ap- 
pointed and  set  forth,  instead  of  the  oaths  of  allegiance,  suprem- 
acy, and  abjuration,  and  instead  of  such  oath  or  oaths  as  are 
or  may  be  now  by  law  required  to  be  taken  for  the  purpose  afore- 
said by  any  of  His  Majesty's  subjects  professing  the  Roman 
Catholic  religion. 

XI.  Provided  always,  and  be  it  enacted,  that  nothing  herein 
contained  shall  be  construed  to  exempt  any  person  professing  the 
Roman  Catholic  religion  from  the  necessity  of  taking  any  oath 
or  oaths,  or  making  any  declaration,  not  hereinbefore  mentioned, 
which  are  or  may  be  by  law  required  to  be  taken  or  subscribed 
by  any  person  on  his  admission  into  any  such  office  or  place  of 
trust  or  profit  as  aforesaid. 

XII.  Provided  also,  and  be  it  further  enacted,  that  nothing 
herein  contained  shall  extend  or  be  construed  to  extend  to  enable 
any  person  or  persons  professing  the  Roman  Catholic  religion  to 
hold  or  exercise  the  office  of  guardians  and  justices  of  the  united 
kingdom,  or  of  regent  of  the  united  kingdom,  under  whatever 
name,  style,  or  title  such  office  may  be  constituted ;  nor  to  enable 
any  person,  otherwise  than  as  he  is  now  by  law  enabled,  to  hold 
or  enjoy  the  office  of  lord  high  chancellor,  lord  keeper  or  lord 
commissioner  of  the  great  seal  of  Great  Britain  or  Ireland;  or 
the  office  of  lord  lieutenant,  or  lord  deputy,  or  other  chief  gov- 
ernor or  governors  of  Ireland;  or  His  Majesty's  high  commis- 
sioner to  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Church  of  Scotland. 


514  English  Constitutional  Documents 

263.    Reform  Act  of  1832 

(1832,  June  7.     2  William  IV,  c.  45.) 

WHEREAS  it  is  expedient  to  take  effectual  measures  for  cor- 
recting divers  abuses  that  have  long  prevailed  in  the  choice 
of  members  to  serve  in  the  commons  house  of  parliament,  to 
deprive  many  inconsiderable  places  of  the  right  of  returning  mem- 
bers, to  grant  such  privilege  to  large,  populous,  and  wealthy  towns, 
to  increase  the  number  of  knights  of  the  shire,  to  extend  the  elec- 
tive franchise  to  many  of  His  Majesty's  subjects  who  have  not 
heretofore  enjoyed  the  same,  and  to  diminish  the  expense  of 
elections:  Be  it  therefore  enacted  by  the  king's  most  excellent 
Majesty,  by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  lords  spir- 
itual and  temporal,  and  commons,  in  this  present  parliament 
assembled,  and  by  the  authority  of  the  same,  that  each  of  the 
boroughs  enumerated  in  the  Schedule  marked  A  (56  in  all)  shall 
from  and  after  the  end  of  this  present  parliament  cease  to  return 
any  member  or  members  to  serve  in  parliament. 

II.  [Boroughs  enumerated  in  Schedule  B  (30  in  all)  to  return 
one  member  only.] 

III.  [Places  named  in  Schedule  C  (22  in  all)  made  boroughs 
to  return  two  members  to  parliament.] 

IV.  [Places  named  in  Schedule  D  (20  in  all)  made  boroughs 
to  return  one  member  to  parliament.] 

V.  [Four  boroughs  to  include  adjacent  districts.] 

VI.  [Weymouth  and  Melcombe  Regis  to  return  two  members 
instead  of  four;  Penryn  to  include  Falmouth,  and  Sandwich  to 
include  Deal  and  Walmer.] 

VII.  Boundaries  to  be  fixed.] 

VIII.  IX,  X.    [Dealing  with  Wales.] 

XI.  [Returning  officers.] 

XII.  [Yorkshire  to  return  six  members.] 

XIII.  [Lincolnshire  to  return  four  members.] 

XIV.  [Counties  enumerated  in  Schedule  F  (25  in  all)  to  return 
four  members.] 

XV.  [Counties  enumerated  in  Schedule  F2  (7  in  all)  to  return 
three  members,  and  two  members  instead  of  one  to  be  returned 
by  three  of  the  counties  in  Wales.] 

XVI.  [Isle  of  Wight  to  return  one  member,  apart  from  Hamp- 
shire.] 


Reform  Act  of  1832  515 

XVII.  [Towns,  which  are  counties  of  themselves,  to  be  included 
in  adjoining  counties.] 

XVIII.  That  no  person  shall  be  entitled  to  vote  in  the  election 
of  a  knight  or  knights  of  the  shire  to  serve  in  any  future  parlia- 
ment, or  in  the  election  of  a  member  or  members  to  serve  in  any 
future  parliament  for  any  city  or  town  being  a  county  of  itself, 
in  respect  of  any  freehold  lands  or  tenements  whereof  such  per- 
son may  be  seised  for  his  own  life,  or  for  the  life  of  another,  or 
for  any  lives  whatsoever,  except  such  person  shall  be  in  the  actual 
and  bona  fide  occupation  of  such  lands  or  tenements,  or  except 
the  same  shall  have  come  to  such  person  by  marriage,  marriage 
settlement,  devise,  or  promotion  to  any  benefice  or  to  any  office, 
or  except  the  same  shall  be  of  the  clear  yearly  value  of  not  less 
than  10  £  above  all  rents  and  charges  payable  out  of  or  in  respect 
of  the  same;  any  statute  or  usage  to  the  contrary  notwithstand- 
ing: provided  always,  that  nothing  in  this  act  contained  shall 
prevent  any  person  now  seised  for  his  own  life,  or  for  the  life  of 
another,  or  for  any  lives  whatsoever,  of  any  freehold  lands  or 
tenements  in  respect  of  which  he  now  has,  or  but  for  the  passing 
of  this  act  might  acquire,  the  right  of  voting  in  such  respective 
elections,  from  retaining  or  acquiring,  so  long  as  he  shall  be  so 
seised  of  the  same  lands  or  tenements,  such  right  of  voting  in 
respect  thereof,  if  duly  registered  according  to  the  respective 
provisions  hereinafter  contained.  « 

XIX.  That  every  male  person  of  full  age,  and  not  subject  to 
any  legal  incapacity,  who  shall  be  seised  at  law  or  in  equity  of 
any  land  or  tenements  of  copyhold  or  any  other  tenure  whatever 
except  freehold,  for  his  own  life,  or  for  the  life  of  another,  or 
for  any  lives  whatsoever,  or  for  any  larger  estate,  of  the  clear 
yearly  value  of  not  less  than  10  £  over  and  above  all  rents  and 
charges  payable  out  of  or  in  respect  of  the  same,  shall  be  entitled 
to  vote  in  the  election  of  a  knight  or  knights  of  the  shire  to  serve 
in  any  future  parliament  for  the  county,  or  for  the  riding,  parts, 
or  division  of  the  county,  in  which  such  lands  or  tenements  shall 
be  respectively  situate. 

XX.  That  every  male  person  of  full  age,  and  not  subject  to 
any  legal  incapacity,  who  shall  be  entitled,  either  as  lessee  or 
assignee,  to  any  lands  or  tenements,  whether  of  freehold  or  of 
any  other  tenure  whatever,  for  the  unexpired  residue,  whatever 
it  may  be,  of  any  term  originally  created  for  a  period  of  not  less 
than  sixty  years,  (whether  determinable  on  a  life  or  lives,  or 
not,)  of  the  clear  yearly  value  of  not  less  than  10  £  over  and 
above  all  rents  and  charges  payable  out  of  or  in  respect  of  the 


516          English  Constitutional  Documents 

same,  or  for  the  unexpired  residue,  whatever  it  may  be,  of  anf 
term  originally  created  for  a  period  of  not  less  than  twenty  years, 
(whether  determinable  on  a  life  or  lives,  or  not,)  of  the  clear 
yearly  value  of  not  less  than  50  £  over  and  above  all  rents  and 
charges  payable  out  of  or  in  respect  of  the  same,  or  who  shall 
occupy  as  tenant  any  lands  or  tenements  for  which  he  shall  be 
bona  fide  liable  to  a  yearly  rent  of  not  less  than  50  £,  shall  be 
entitled  to  vote  in  the  election  of  a  knight  or  knights  of  the  shire 
to  serve  in  any  future  parliament  for  the  county,  or  for  the  riding, 
parts,  or  division  of  the  county,  in  which  such  lands  or  tene- 
ments shall  be  respectively  situate :  provided  always,  that  no  per- 
son, being  only  a  sub-lessee,  or  the  assignee  of  any  under-lease, 
shall  have  a  right  to  vote  in  such  election  in  respect  of  any  such 
term  of  sixty  years  or  twenty  years  as  aforesaid,  unless  he  shall 
be  in  the  actual  occupation  of  the  premises. 

XXI.  That  no  public  or  parliamentary  tax,  nor  any  church 
rate,  county  rate,  or  parochial  rate,  shall  be  deemed  to  be  any 
charge  payable  out  of  or  in  respect  of  any  lands  or  tenements 
within  the  meaning  of  this  act. 

XXII.  That  in  order  to  entitle  any  person  to  vote  in  any  elec- 
tion of  a  knight  of  the  shire  or  other  member  to  serve  in  any 
r'uture  parliament,  in  respect  of  any  messuages,  lands,  or  tene- 
ments, whether  freehold  or  otherwise,  it  shall  not  be  necessary 
that  the  same  shall  be  assessed  to  the  land  tax;  any  statute  to 
the  contrary  notwithstanding. 


XXVI.  That  notwithstanding  anything  hereinbefore  contained 
no  person  shall  be  entitled  to  vote  in  the  election  of  a  knight  or 
knights  of  the  shire  to  serve  in  any  future  parliament  unless  he 
shall  have  been  duly  registered  according  to  the  provisions  here- 
inafter contained;  and  that  no  person  shall  be  so  registered  in 
any  year  in  respect  of  his  estate  or  interest  in  any  lands  or  tene- 
ments, as  a  freeholder,  copyholder,  customary  tenant,  or  tenant 
in  ancient  demesne,  unless  he  shall  have  been  in  the  actual  pos- 
session thereof,  or  in  the  receipt  of  the  rents  and  profits  thereof 
for  his  own  use,  for  six  calendar  months  at  least  next  previous  to 
the  last  day  of  July  in  such  year,  which  said  period  of  six  cal- 
endar months  shall  be  sufficient,  any  statute  to  the  contrary  not- 
withstanding; and  that  no  person  shall  be  so  registered  in  any 
year,  in  respect  of  any  lands  or  tenements  held  by  him  as  such 
lessee  or  assignee,  or  as  such  occupier  and  tenant  as  aforesaid, 
unless  he  shall  have  been  in  the  actual  possession  thereof,  or  iq 


Reform  Act  of  1832  517 

receipt  of  the  rents  and  profits  thereof  for  his  own  use,  as  the 
case  may  require,  for  twelve  calendar  months  next  previous  to 
the  last  day  of  July  in  such  year :  provided  always,  that  where 
any  lands  or  tenements,  which  would  othenvise  entitle  the  owner, 
holder,  or  occupier  thereof  to  vote  in  any  such  election,  shall 
come  to  any  person,  at  any  time  within  such  respective  periods 
of  six  or  twelve  calendar  months,  by  descent,  succession,  mar- 
riage, marriage  settlement,  devise,  or  promotion  to  any  benefice 
in  a  church,  or  by  promotion  to  any  office,  such  person  shall  be 
entitled  in  respect  thereof  to  have  his  name  inserted  as  a  voter  in 
the  election  of  a  knight  or  knights  of  the  shire  in  the  lists  then 
next  to  be  made,  by  virtue  of  this  act  as  hereinafter  mentioned, 
and,  upon  his  being  duly  registered  according  to  the  provisions 
hereinafter  contained,  to  vote  in  such  election. 

XXVII.  That  in  every  city  or  borough  which  shall  return  a 
member  or  members  to  serve  in  any  future  parliament,  every 
male  person  of  full  age,  and  not  subject  to  any  legal  incapacity, 
who  shall  occupy,  within  such  city  or  borough,  or  within  any 
place  sharing  in  the  election  for  such  city  or  borough,  as  owner 
or  tenant,  any  house,  warehouse,  counting-house,  shop,  or  other 
building,  being,  either  separately,  or  jointly  with  any  land  within 
such  city,  borough,  or  place  occupied  therewith  by  him  as  owner, 
or  therewith  by  him  as  tenant  under  the  same  landlord,  of  the 
clear  yearly  value  of  not  less  than  10  £,  shall,  if  duly  registered 
according  to  the  provisions  hereinafter  contained,  be  entitled  to 
vote  in  the  election  of  a  member  or  members  to  serve  in  any 
future  parliament  for  such  city  or  borough :  provided  always,  that 
no  such  person  shall  be  so  registered  in  any  year  unless  he  shall 
have  occupied  such  premises  as  aforesaid  for  twelve  calendar 
months  next  previous  to  the  last  day  of  July  in  such  year,  nor  un- 
less such  person,  where  such  premises  are  situated  in  any  parish 
or  township  in  which  there  shall  be  a  rate  for  the  relief  of  the 
poor,  shall  have  been  rated  in  respect  of  such  premises  to  all 
rates  for  the  relief  of  the  poor  in  such  parish  or  township,  made 
during  the  time  of  such  his  occupation  so  required  as  aforesaid, 
nor  unless  such  person  shall  have  paid,  on  or  before  the  zoth  of 
July  in  such  year,  all  the  poor's  rates  and  assessed  taxes  which 
shall  have  become  payable  from  him  in  respect  of  such  premises 
previously  to  the  6th  of  April  then  next  preceding :  provided  also, 
that  no  such  person  shall  be  so  registered  in  any  year  unless  he 
shall  have  resided  for  six  calendar  months  next  previous  to  the 
last  day  of  July  in  such  year  within  the  city  or  borough,  or  within 
the  place  sharing  in  the  election  for  the  city  or  borough,  in  re- 


518  English  Constitutional  Documents 

spect  of  which  city,  borough,  or  place  respectively  he  shall  be 
entitled  to  vote,  or  within  seven  statute  miles  thereof  or  of  any 
part  thereof. 

XXVIII.  That  the  premises  in  respect  of  the  occupation  of 
which  any  person  shall  be  entitled  to  be  registered  in  any  year, 
and  to  vote  in  the  election  for  any  city  or  borough  as  aforesaid, 
shall  not  be  required  to  be  the  same  premises,  but  may  be  differ- 
ent premises  occupied  in  immediate  succession  by  such  person 
during  the  twelve  calendar  months  next  previous  to  the  last  day 
of  July  in  such  year,  such  person  having  paid  on  or  before  the 
zoth  of  July  in  such  year,  all  the  poor's  rates  and  assessed  taxes 
which  shall  previously  to  the  6th  of  April  then  next  preceding 
have  become  payable  from  him  in  respect  of  all  such  premises  so 
occupied  by  him  in  succession. 


XXXVI.  That  no  person  shall  be  entitled  to  be  registered  in 
any  year  as  a  voter  in  the  election  of  a  member  or  members  to 
serve  in  any  future  parliament  for  any  city  or  borough  who  shall 
within  twelve  calendar  months  next  previous  to  the  last  day  of 
July  in  such  year  have  received  parochial  relief  or  other  alms, 
which  by  the  law  of  parliament  now  disqualify  from  voting  in  the 
election  of  members  to  serve  in  parliament. 

XXXVII.  That  the  overseers  of  the  poor  of  every  parish  and 
township  shall,  on  the  2Oth  day  of  June  in  the  present  and  in 
every  succeeding  year,  cause  to  be  fixed  on  or  near  the  doors  of 
all  the  churches  and  chapels  within  such  parish  or  township,  or 
if  there  be  no  church  or  chapel  therein,  then  to  be  fixed  in  some 
public  and  conspicuous  situation  within  the  same  respectively,  a 
notice  according  to  the  form  numbered  i.  in  the  schedule  (H.)  to 
this  act  annexed,  requiring  all  persons  who  may  be  entitled  to 
vote  in  the  election  of  a  knight  or  knights  of  the  shire  *  *  *  in 
respect  of  any  property  situate  wholly  or  in  part  in  such  parish  or 
township,  to  deliver  or  transmit  to  the  said  overseers  on  or  before 
the  2oth  of  July  in  the  present  and  in  every  succeeding  year  a 
notice  of  their  claim  as  such  voters,  according  to  the  form  num- 
bered 2.  in  the  said  schedule  (H.),  or  to  the  like  effect:  provided 
always,  that  after  the  formation  of  the  register  to  be  made  in 
each  year,  as  hereinafter  mentioned,  no  person  whose  name  shall 
be  upon  such  register  for  the  time  being  shall  be  required  there- 
after to  make  any  such  claim  as  aforesaid,  so  long  as  he  shall 
retain  the  same  qualification,  and  continue  in  the  same  place  oJ 
abode  described  by  such  register. 


Reform  Act  of  1832  519 

XXXVIII.  That  the  overseer  of  the  poor  of  every  parish  and 
township  shall,  on  or  before  the  last  day  of  July  in  the  present 
year,  make  out  or  cause  to  be  made  out,  according  to  the  form 
numbered  3.  in  the  said  schedule  (H.),  an  alphabetical  list  of  all 
persons  who  shall  claim  as  aforesaid  to  be  inserted  in  such  list 
as  voters  in  the  election  of  a  knight  or  knights  of  the  shire  *  *  *, 
in  respect  of  any  lands  or  tenements  situate  wholly  or  in  part 
within  such  parish  or  township;  and  that  the  said  overseers  shall 
on  or  before  the  last  day  of  July  in  every  succeeding  year  make 
out  or  cause  to  be  made  out  a  like  list,  containing  the  names  of 
all  persons  who  shall  be  upon  the  register  for  the  time  being  as 
such  voters,  and  also  the  names  of  all  persons  who  shall  claim  as 
aforesaid  to  be  inserted  in  the  last-mentioned  list  as  such  voters; 
and  in  every  list  so  to  be  made  out  by  the  overseers  as  aforesaid, 
the  Christian  name  and  surname  of  every  person  shall  be  written 
at  full  length,  together  with  the  place  of  his  abode,  the  nature  of 
his  qualification,  and  the  local  or  other  description  of  such  lands 
or  tenements,  as  the  same  are  respectively  set  forth  in  his  claim 
to  vote,  and  the  name  of  the  occupying  tenant,  if  stated  in  such 
claim;  and  the  said  overseers,  if  they  shall  have  reasonable  cause 
to  believe  that  any  person  so  claiming  as  aforesaid,  or  whose 
name  shall  appear  in  the  register  for  the  time  being,  is  not  en- 
titled to  vote  in  the  election  of  a  knight  or  knights  of  the  shire 
*  *  *,  shall  have  power  to  add  the  words  "objected  to"  opposite 
the  name  of  every  such  person  on  the  margin  of  such  list;  and 
the  said  overseers  shall  sign  such  list,  and  shall  cause  a  sufficient 
number  of  copies  of  such  list  to  be  written  or  printed,  and  to  be 
fixed  on  or  near  the  doors  of  all  the  churches  and  chapels  within 
their  parish  or  township,  or  if  there  be  no  church  or  chapel 
therein,  then  to  be  fixed  up  in  some  public  and  conspicuous  situa- 
tion within  the  same  respectively,  on  the  two  Sundays  next  after 
such  list  shall  have  been  made;  and  the  said  overseers  shall  like- 
wise keep  a  true  copy  of  such  list,  to  be  perused  by  any  person, 
without  payment  of  any  fee,  at  all  reasonable  hours  during  the 
first  two  weeks  after  such  lists  shall  have  been  made;  provided 
always,  that  every  precinct  or  place,  whether  extra-parochial  or 
otherwise,  which  shall  have  no  overseers  of  the  poor,  shall  for  the 
purpose  of  making  out  such  list  as  aforesaid  be  deemed  to  be 
within  the  parish  or  township  adjoining  thereto,  such  parish  or 
township  being  situate  within  the  same  county,  or  the  same  rid- 
ing, parts,  or  division  of  a  county,  as  such  precinct  or  place;  and 
if  such  precinct  or  place  shall  adjoin  two  or  more  parishes  or 
townships  so  situate  as  aforesaid,  it  shall  be  deemed  to  be  within 


520  English  Constitutional  Documents 

the  least  populous  of  such  parishes  or  townships  according  to  the 
last  census  for  the  time  being;  and  the  overseers  of  the  poor  of 
every  such  parish  or  township  shall  insert  in  the  list  for  their  re- 
spective parish  or  township  the  names  of  all  persons  who  shall 
claim  as  aforesaid  to  be  inserted  therein  as  voters.  *  *  * 

XXXIX.  That  every  person  who  shall  be  upon  the  register  for 
the  time  being  for  any  county,  or  for  any  riding,  parts,  or  divi- 
sion of  a  county,  or  who  shall  have  claimed  to  be  inserted  in  any 
list  for  the  then  current  year  of  voters  *  *  *  may  object  to  any 
person  as  not  having  been  entitled  on  the  last  day  of  July  then 
next  preceding  to  have  his  name  inserted  in  any  list  of  voters 

*  *  *  so  to  be  made  out  as  aforesaid;  and  every  person  so  object- 
ing (save  and  except  overseers  objecting  in  the  manner  herein- 
before mentioned)  shall,  on  or  before  the  25th  of  August  in  the 
present  and  in  every  succeeding  year,  give  or  cause  to  be  given  a 
notice  in  writing  according  to  the  form  numbered  4.  in  the  said 
schedule  (H.),  or  to  the  like  effect,  to  the  overseers  who  shall 
have  made  out  the  list  in  which  the  name  so  objected  to  shall 
have  been  inserted;  and  the  person  so  objecting  shall  also,  on  or 
before  the  25th  of  August  *  *  *  give  to  the  person  objected  to, 
or  leave  at  his  place  of  abode  as  described  in  such  list,  or  per- 
sonally deliver   to  'his    tenant  in   occupation   of   the  premises 
described  in  such  list,  a  notice  in  writing  according  to  the  form 
numbered  5.  in  the  said  schedule  (H.),  or  to  the  like  effect;  and 
the  overseers  shall  include  the  names  of  all  persons  so  objected 
to  in  a  list  according  to  the  form  numbered  6.  in  the  said  schedule 
(H.),  and  shall  cause  copies  of  the  same  to  be  fixed  on  or  near 
the  doors  of  all  the  churches  *  *  *  on  the  two  Sundays  next  pre- 
ceding the  1 5th  of  September  in  the  present  and  every  succeeding 
year;  and  the  overseers  shall  likewise  keep  a  copy  of  the  names 
of  all  the  persons  so  objected  to,  to  be  perused  by  any  person. 

*  #  # 

XL.  That  on  the  2Qth  of  August  in  the  present  and  in  every 
succeeding  year  the  overseers  of  every  parish  and  township  shall 
deliver  the  list  of  voters  so  made  out  as  aforesaid,  together  with 
a  written  statement  of  the  number  of  persons  objected  to  by  the 
overseers  and  by  other  persons,  to  the  high  constable  or  high 
constables  of  the  hundred  or  other  like  district  in  which  such  par- 
ish or  township  is  situate;  and  such  high  constable  or  high  con- 
stables shall  forthwith  deliver  all  such  lists,  together  with  such 
statements  as  aforesaid,  to  the  clerk  of  the  peace  of  the  county, 
riding,  or  parts,  who  shall  forthwith  make  out  an  abstract  of  the 
number  of  persons  objected  to  by  the  overseers  and  by  other  per- 


Reform  Act  of  1832  521 

sons  in  each  parish  or  township,  and  transmit  the  same  to  the 
barrister  or  barristers  appointed  as  hereinafter  mentioned  to 
revise  such  lists,  in  order  that  the  said  barrister  or  barristers  may 
fix  proper  times  and  places  for  holding  his  or  their  courts  for  the 
revision  of  the  said  lists. 

XLI.  That  the  lord  chief  justice  of  the  court  of  king's  bench 
shall,  in  the  month  of  July  or  August  in  the  present  and  in  every 
succeeding  year,  nominate  and  appoint  for  Middlesex,  and  the 
senior  judge  for  the  time  being  in  the  commission  of  assize  for 
every  other  county  shall,  when  travelling  the  summer  circuit, 
*  *  *  nominate  and  appoint  for  every  such  county,  or  for  each 
of  the  ridings,  parts,  or  divisions  of  such  county,  a  barrister  or 
barristers  to  revise  the  lists  of  voters  in  the  election  of  a  knight 
or  knights  of  the  shire;  and  such  barrister  or  barristers  so  ap- 
pointed as  aforesaid  shall  give  public  notice,  as  well  by  advertise- 
ment in  some  of  the  newspapers  circulating  within  the  county, 
riding,  parts,  or  division,  as  also  by  a  notice  to  be  fixed  in  some 
public  and  conspicuous  situation  ***(***  to  be  given  three 
days  at  the  least  before  the  commencement  of  his  or  their  circuit,) 
that  he  or  they  will  make  a  circuit  of  the  county,  riding,  parts,  or 
division  for  which  he  or  they  shall  be  so  appointed,  and  of  the 
several  times  and  places  at  which  he  or  they  will  hold  courts  for 
that  purpose,  such  times  being  between  the  isth  of  September  in- 
clusive and  the  25th  of  October  inclusive  in  the  present  and  in 
every  succeeding  year,  and  he  or  they  shall  hold  open  courts  for 
that  purpose  at  the  times  and  places  so  to  be  announced;  and 
where  two  or  more  barristers  shall  be  appointed  for  the  same 
county,  riding,  parts,  or  division,  they  shall  attend  at  the  same 
places  together,  but  shall  sit  apart  from  each  other,  and  hold 
separate  courts  at  the  same  time  for  the  despatch  of  business: 
provided  always,  Jhat  no  member  of  parliament,  nor  any  person 
holding  any  office  or  place  of  profit  under  the  crown,  shall  be 
appointed  such  barrister,  and  that  no  barristers  so  appointed  as 
aforesaid  shall  be  eligible  to  serve  in  parliament  for  eighteen 
months  from  the  time  of  such  his  appointment.  *  *  * 

XLII.  That  the  clerk  of  the  peace  shall  at  the  opening  of  the 
first  court  to  be  held  by  every  such  barrister  *  *  *  produce  or 
cause  to  be  produced  before  him  the  several  lists  of  voters  for 
such  county,  riding,  parts,  or  division  which  shall  have  been  de- 
livered to  such  clerk  of  the  peace  by  the  high  constable  as  afore- 
said; and  the  overseers  of  every  parish  and  township  who  shall 
have  made  out  the  lists  of  voters  shall  attend  the  court  to  be  held 
by  every  such  barrister  at  the  place  appointed  for  revising  the 


522  English  Constitutional  Documents 

lists  relating  to  such  parish  or  township  respectively,  and  shall 
also  deliver  to  such  barrister  a  copy  of  the  list  of  the  persons  ob- 
jected to,  so  made  out  by  them  as  aforesaid;  and  the  said  over- 
seers shall  answer  upon  oath  all  such  questions  as  such  barrister 
may  put  to  them  or  any  of  them  touching  any  matter  necessary 
for  revising  the  lists  of  voters;  and  every  such  barrister  shall  re- 
tain on  the  lists  of  voters  the  names  of  all  persons  to  whom  no 
objection  shall  have  been  made  by  the  overseers,  or  by  any  other 
person,  in  the  manner  hereinbefore  mentioned;  and  he  shall  also 
retain  on  the  list  of  voters  the  name  of  every  person  who  shall 
have  been  objected  to  by  any  person  other  than  the  overseers, 
unless  the  party  so  objecting  shall  appear  by  himself  or  by  some 
one  on  his  behalf  in  support  of  such  objection;  and  where  the 
name  of  any  person  inserted  in  the  list  of  voters  shall  have  been 
objected  to  by  the  overseers,  or  by  any  other  person  in  the  man- 
ner hereinbefore  mentioned,  and  such  person  so  objecting  shall 
appear  by  himself  or  by  some  one  on  his  behalf  in  support  of 
such  objection,  every  such  barrister  shall  require  it  to  be  proved 
that  the  person  so  objected  to  was  entitled  on  the  last  day  of  July 
then  next  preceding  to  have  his  name  inserted  in  the  list  of  vo- 
ters in  respect  of  the  qualification  described  in  such  list;  and  in 
case  the  same  shall  not  be  proved  to  the  satisfaction  of  such  bar- 
rister, or  in  case  it  shall  be  proved  that  such  person  was  then 
incapacitated  by  any  law  or  statute  from  voting  in  the  election  of 
members  to  serve  in  parliament,  such  barrister  shall  expunge  the 
name  of  every  such  person  from  the  said  lists;  and  he  shall  also 
expunge  from  the  said  lists  the  name  of  every  person  who  shall 
be  proved  to  him  to  be  dead;  and  shall  correct  any  mistake 
which  shall  be  proved  to  him  to  have  been  made  in  any  of  the 
said  lists  as  to  any  of  the  particulars  by  this  act  required  to  be 
inserted  in  such  lists;  and  where  the  Christian  name  of  any  per- 
son, or  his  place  of  abode,  or  the  nature  of  his  qualification,  or 
the  local  or  other  description  of  his  property,  or  the  name  of  the 
tenant  in  the  occupation  thereof,  as  the  same  respectively  are 
required  to  be  inserted  in  any  such  list,  shall  be  wholly  omitted 
therefrom,  such  barrister  shall  expunge  the  name  of  every  such 
person  from  such  list,  unless  the  matter  or  matters  so  omitted  be 
supplied  to  the  satisfaction  of  such  barrister  before  he  shall  have 
completed  the  revision  of  such  list,  in  which  case  he  shall  then 
and  there  insert  the  same  in  such  list :  provided  always,  that  no 
person's  name  shall  be  expunged  from  any  such  list,  except  in 
case  of  his  death  or  of  his  being  objected  to  on  the  margin  of  the 
list  by  the  overseers  as  aforesaid,  or  except  in  case  of  any  such 


Reform  Act  of  1832  523 

omission  or  omissions  as  hereinbefore  last-mentioned,  unless  such 
notice  as  is  hereinbefore  required  in  that  behalf  shall  have  been 
given  to  the  overseers,  nor  unless  such  notice  as  is  hereinbefore 
required  in  that  behalf  shall  have  been  given  to  such  person,  or 
left  at  his  place  of  abode,  or  delivered  to  his  tenant  as  herein- 
before mentioned. 

XLIII.  Provided  also,  that  if  it  shall  happen  that  any  person 
who  shall  have  given  to  the  overseers  of  any  parish  or  township 
due  notice  of  his  claim  to  have  his  name  inserted  in  the  list  of 
voters  in  the  election  of  a  knight  or  knights  of  the  shire,  shall 
have  been  omitted  by  such  overseers  from  such  list,  it  shall  be 
lawful  for  the  barrister,  upon  the  revision  of  such  list,  to  insert 
therein  the  name  of  the  person  so  omitted,  in  case  it  shall  be 
proved  to  the  satisfaction  of  such  barrister  that  such  person  gave 
due  notice  of  such  his  claim  to  the  said  overseers,  and  that  he 
was  entitled  on  the  last  day  of  July  then  next  preceding  to  be 
inserted  in  the  list  of  voters  in  the  election  of  a  knight  or  knights 
of  the  shire.  *  *  * 

XLIV-LII.  [Regulations  for  registration  of  voters  for  bor- 
oughs.] 

LVI.  That  for  the  purpose  of  defraying  the  expenses  to  be 
incurred  by  the  overseers  of  the  poor  and  by  the  clerk  of  the 
peace  in  carrying  into  effect  the  several  provisions  of  this  act,  so 
far  as  relates  to  the  electors  for  any  county,  or  for  any  riding, 
parts,  or  division  of  a  county,  every  person,  upon  giving  notice 
of  his  claim  as  such  elector  to  the  overseers,  as  hereinbefore 
mentioned,  shall  pay  or  cause  to  be  paid  to  the  said  overseers  the 
sum  of  i  s. ;  and  such  notice  of  claim  shall  not  be  deemed  valid 
until  such  sum  shall  have  been  paid;  and  the  overseers  of  each 
parish  or  township  shall  add  all  monies  so  received  by  them  to 
the  money  collected  or  to  be  collected  for  the  relief  of  the  poor 
in  such  parish  or  townships,  and  such  monies  so  added  shall  be 
.applicable  to  the  same  purposes  as  monies  collected  for  the  relief 
of  the  poor;  and  that  for  the  purpose  of  defraying  the  expenses 
to  be  incurred  by  the  returning  officer  of  every  city  and  borough, 
and  by  the  overseers  of  the  several  parishes  and  townships  in 
every  city  and  borough,  and  place  sharing  in  the  election  there- 
with, in  carrying  into  effect  the  provisions  of  this  act,  so  far  as 
relates  to  the  electors  for  such  city  or  borough,  every  such  elector 
whose  name  shall  be  upon  the  register  of  voters  for  such  city  or 
borough  for  the  time  being  shall  be  liable  to  the  payment  of  i  s. 
annually,  which  sum  shall  be  levied  and  collected  from  each 


524  English  Constitutional  Documents 

elector  in  addition  to  and  as  a  part  of  the  money  payable  by  him 
as  his  contribution  to  the  rate  for  the  relief  of  the  poor,  and  such 
sum  shall  be  applicable  to  the  same  purposes  as  money  collected 
for  the  relief  of  the  poor;  and  that  the  expenses  incurred  by  the 
overseers  of  any  parish  or  township  in  making  out,  printing, 
and  publishing  the  several  lists  and  notices  directed  by  this  act, 
and  all  other  expenses  incurred  by  them  in  carrying  into  effect 
the  provisions  of  this  act,  shall  be  defrayed  out  of  the  money  col- 
lected or  to  be  collected  for  the  relief  of  the  poor  in  such  parish 
or  township;  and  that  all  expenses  incurred  by  the  returning 
officer  of  any  city  or  borough  in  causing  the  lists  of  the  electors 
for  such  city  or  borough  to  be  copied  out  and  made  into  a  register, 
and  in  causing  copies  of  such  register  to  be  written  or  printed, 
shall  be  defrayed  by  the  overseers  of  the  poor  of  the  several  par- 
ishes and  townships  within  such  city  or  borough,  or  place  sharing 
in  the  election  therewith,  out  of  the  money  collected  or  to  be  col- 
lected for  the  relief  of  the  poor  in  such  parishes  and  township, 
in  proportion  to  the  number  of  voters  placed  on  the  register  of 
voters  for  each  parish  or  township;  and  that  all  expenses  incurred 
by  the  clerk  of  the  peace  of  any  county,  riding,  or  parts  in  caus- 
ing the  lists  of  the  electors  for  such  county,  riding,  or  parts,  or 
for  any  division  of  such  county,  to  be  copied  out  and  made  into 
a  register,  and  in  causing  copies  of  such  register  to  be  written  or 
printed,  and  in  otherwise  carrying  into  effect  the  provisions  of 
this  act,  shall  be  defrayed  by  the  treasurer  of  such  county,  riding, 
or  parts  out  of  any  public  money  in  his  hands,  and  he  shall  be 
allowed  all  such  payments  in  his  accounts :  provided  always,  that 
no  expenses  incurred  by  any  clerk  of  the  peace  under  this  act 
shall  be  so  defrayed  unless  the  account  shall  be  laid  before  the 
justices  of  the  peace  at  the  next  quarter  sessions  after  such  ex- 
penses shall  have  been  incurred,  and  allowed  by  the  court. 

LVII.  That  every  barrister  appointed  to  revise  any  list  of  vo- 
ters under  this  act  shall  be  paid  at  the  rate  of  five  guineas  for 
every  day  that  he  shall  be  so  employed,  over  and  above  his  trav- 
elling and  other  expenses;  and  every  such  barrister,  after  the 
termination  of  his  last  sitting,  shall  lay  or  cause  to  be  laid  before 
the  lords  commissioners  of  His  Majesty's  treasury  for  the  time 
being  a  statement  of  the  number  of  days  during  which  he  shall 
have  been  so  employed,  and  an  account  of  the  travelling  and 
other  expenses  incurred  by  him  in  respect  of  such  employment; 
and  the  said  lords  commissioners  shall%  make  an  order  for  the 
amount  to  be  paid  to  such  barrister. 


Reform  Act  of  1832  525 

LXII.  That  at  every  contested  election  of  a  knight  or  knights 
to  serve  in  any  future  parliament  for  any  county,  or  for  any  rid- 
ing, parts, -or  division  of  a  county,  the  polling  shall  commence 
at  nine  o'clock  in  the  forenoon  of  the  next  day  but  two  after  the 
day  fixed  for  the  election,  unless  such  next  day  but  two  shall  be 
Saturday  or  Sunday,  and  then  on  the  Monday  following,  at  the 
principal  place  of  election,  and  also  at  the  several  places  to  be 
appointed  as  hereinafter  directed  for  taking  polls;  and  such  poll- 
ing shall  continue  for  two  days  only,  such  two  days  being  success- 
ive days;  (that  is  to  say,)  for  seven  hours  on  the  first  day  of  polling, 
and  for  eight  hours  on  the  second  day  of  polling;  and  no  poll 
shall  be  kept  open  later  than  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  of  the 
second  day;  any  statute  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding. 

LXIII.  That  the  respective  counties  in  England  and  Wales, 
and  the  respective  ridings,  parts,  and  divisions  of  counties,  shall 
be  divided  into  convenient  districts  for  polling,  and  in  each  dis- 
trict shall  be  appointed  a  convenient  place  for  taking  the  poll  at 
all  elections  of  a  knight  or  knights  of  the  shire  to  serve  in  any 
future  parliament,  and  such  districts  and  places  for  taking  the 
poll  shall  be  settled  and  appointed  by  the  act  to  be  passed  in  this 
present  parliament  for  the  purpose  of  settling  and  describing  the 
divisions  of  the  counties  enumerated  in  the  schedule  marked  (F.) 
to  this  act  annexed;  provided  that  no  county,  nor  any  riding, 
parts,  or  division  of  a  county,  shall  have  more  than  fifteen  dis- 
tricts and  respective  places  appointed  for  taking  the  poll  for  such 
county,  riding,  parts,  or  division. 

LXIV.  That  at  every  contested  election  for  any  county,  riding, 
parts,  or  division  of  a  county,  the  sheriff,  under-sheriff,  or  sher- 
iff's deputy  shall,  if  required  thereto  by  or  on  behalf  of  any  can- 
didate, on  the  day  fixed  for  the  election,  and  if  not  so  required 
may  if  it  shall  appear  to  him  expedient,  cause  to  be  erected  a 
reasonable  number  of  booths  for  taking  the  poll  at  the  principal 
place  of  election,  and  also  at  each  of  the  polling  places  so  to  be 
appointed  as  aforesaid,  and  shall  cause  to  be  affixed  on  the  most 
conspicuous  part  of  each  of  the  said  booths  the  names  of  the  sev- 
eral parishes,  townships,  and  places  for  which  such  booth  is  re- 
spectively allotted ;  and  no  person  shall  be  admitted  to  vote  at 
any  such  election  in  respect  of  any  property  situate  in  any  parish, 
township,  or  place,  except  at  the  booth  so  allotted  for  such  par- 
ish, township,  or  place,  and  if  no  booth  shall  be  so  allotted  for 
the  same,  then  at  any  of  the  booths  for  the  same  district;  and  in 
case  any  parish,  township,  or  place  shall  happen  not  to  be  included 
in  any  of  the  districts  to  be  appointed,  the  votes  in  respect  of 


526  English  Constitutional  Documents 

property  situate  in  any  parish,  township,  or  places  omitted  shall 
betaken  at  the  principal  place  of  election  for  the  county,  or  rid- 
ing, parts,  or  division  of  the  county,  as  the  case  may  be. 

LXXI.  That  from  and  after  the  end  of  this  present  parliament 
all  booths  erected  for  the  convenience  of  taking  polls  shall  be 
erected  at  the  joint  and  equal  expense  of  the  several  candidates, 
and  the  same  shall  be  erected  by  contract  with  the  candidates,  if 
they  shall  think  fit  to  make  such  contract,  or  if  they  shall  not 
make  such  contract,  then  the  same  shall  be  erected  by  the  sheriff 
or  other  returning  officer  at  the  expense  of  the  several  candidates 
as  aforesaid,  subject  to  such  limitation  as  is  hereinafter  next 
mentioned;  (that  is  to  say,)  that  the  expense  to  be  incurred  for 
the  booth  or  booths  to  be  erected  at  the  principal  place  of  elec- 
tion *  *  *  or  at  any  of  the  polling  places  so  to  be  appointed  as 
aforesaid,  shall  not  exceed  the  sum  of  40  £  in  respect  of  any  one 
such  principal  place  of  election  or  any  one  such  polling  place; 
and  that  the  expense  to  be  incurred  for  any  booth  or  booths  to 
be  erected  for  any  parish,  district,  or  part  of  any  city  or  borough 
shall  not  exceed  the  sum  of  25  £  in  respect  of  any  one  such  par- 
ish, district,  or  part;  and  that  all  deputies  appointed  by  the 
sheriff  or  other  returning  officer  shall  be  paid  each  two  guineas 
by  the  day,  and  all  clerks  employed  in  taking  the  poll  shall  be 
paid  each  one  guinea  by  the  day,  at  the  expense  of  the  candidates 
at  such  election :  provided  always,  that  if  any  person  shall  be  pro- 
posed without  his  consent,  then  the  person  so  proposing  him  shall 
be  liable  to  defray  his  share  of  the  said  expenses  in  like  manner 
as  if  he  had  been  a  candidate;  provided  also,  that  the  sheriff  or 
other  returning  officer  may,  if  he  shall  think  fit,  instead  of  erect- 
ing such  booth  or  booths  as  aforesaid,  procure  or  hire  and  use 
any  houses  or  other  buildings  for  the  purpose  of  taking  the  poll 
therein,  subject  always  to  the  same  regulations,  provisions,  lia- 
bilities, and  limitations  of  expense  as  are  hereinbefore  mentioned 
with  regard  to  booths  for  taking  the  poll. 

LXXVIII.  Provided  always,  that  nothing  in  this  act  contained 
shall  extend  to  or  in  any  wise  affect  the  election  of  members  to 
serve  in  parliament  for  the  universities  of  Oxford  or  Cambridge,  or 
shall  entitle  any  person  to  vote  in  the  election  of  members  to  serve 
in  parliament  for  the  city  of  .Oxford  or  town  of  Cambridge  in 
respect  of  the  occupation  of  any  chamber  or  premises  in  any  of 
the  colleges  or  halls  of  the  universities  of  Oxford  or  Cambridge. 


Abolition  of  Negro  Slavery  527 

264.    Abolition  of  Negro  Slavery 

(1833,  August  28.    3  &  4  William  IV.  c.  73.) 

WHEREAS  divers  Persons  are  holden  in  Slavery  within  divers 
of  His  Majesty's  Colonies,  and  it  is  just  and  expedient  that 
all  such  Persons  should  be  manumitted  and  set  free,  and  that  a  rea- 
sonable Compensation  should  be  made  to  the  Persons  hitherto  enti- 
tled to  the  Services  of  such  Slaves  for  the  Loss  which  they  will  incur 
by  being  deprived  of  their  Right  to  such  Services :  And  whereas  it 
is  also  expedient  that  Provision  should  be  made  for  promoting 
the  Industry  and  securing  the  good  Conduct  of  the  Persons  so  to 
be  manumitted,  for  a  limited  Period  after  such  their  Manumis- 
sion :  And  whereas  it  is  necessary  that  the  Laws  now  in  force  in 
the  said  several  Colonies  should  forthwith  be  adapted  to  the  new 
State  and  Relations  of  Society  therein  which  will  follow  upon 
such  general  Manumission  as  aforesaid  of  the  said  Slaves;  and 
that,  in  order  to  afford  the  necessary  Time  for  such  Adaptation 
of  the  said  Laws,  a  short  Interval  should  elapse  before  such 
Manumission  should  take  effect:  Be  it  therefore  enacted  by  the 
King's  most  Excellent  Majesty,  by  and  with  the  Advice  and 
Consent  of  the  Lords  Spiritual  and  Temporal,  and  Commons,  in 
this  present  Parliament  assembled,  and  by  the  Authority  of  the 
same,  That  from  and  after  the  First  Day  of  August  One  thousand 
eight  hundred  and  thirty-four  all  Persons  who  in  conformity  with 
the  Laws  now  in  force  in  the  said  Colonies  respectively  shall  on 
or  before  the  First  Day  of  August  One  thousand  eight  hundred 
and  thirty-four  have  been  duly  registered  as  Slaves  in  any  such 
Colony,  and  who  on  the  said  First  Day  of  August  One  thousand 
eight  hundred  and  thirty-four  shall  be  actually  within  any  such 
Colony,  and  who  shall  by  such  Registries  appear  to  be  on  the  said 
First  Day  of  August  One  thousand  eight  hundred  and  thirty-four 
of  the  full  Age  of  Six  Years  or  upwards,  shall  by  force  and  virtue  of 
this  Act,  and  without  the  previous  Execution  of  any  Indenture  of 
Apprenticeship,  or  other  Deed  or  Instrument  for  that  Purpose,  be- 
come and  be  apprenticed  Labourers;  provided  that,  for  the  Pur- 
poses aforesaid,  every  Slave  engaged  in  his  ordinary  Occupation 
on  the  Seas  shall  be  deemed  and  taken  to  be  within  the  Colony 
to  which  such  Slave  shall  belong. 

II.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  during  the  Continuance 
of  the  Apprenticeship  of  any  such  apprenticed  Labourer  such 
Person  or  Persons  shall  be  entitled  to  the  Services  of  such  ap- 


528  English  Constitutional  Documents 

prenticed  Labourer  as  would  for  the  Time  being  have  been 
entitled  to  his  or  her  Services  as  a  Slave  if  this  Act  had  not  been 
made. 

III.  Provided  also,  and  be  it  further  enacted,  That  all  Slaves 
who  may  at  any  Time  previous  to  the  passing  of  this  Act  have 
been  brought  with  the  Consent  of  their  Possessors,  and  all  appren- 
ticed Labourers  who  may  hereafter  with  the  like  Consent  be 
brought,  into  any  Part  of  the  United  Kingdom  of  Great  Britain 
and  Ireland,  shall  from  and  after  the  passing  of  this  Act  be  abso- 
lutely and  entirely  free  to  all  Intents  and  Purposes  whatsoever. 


XXIV.  And  whereas,  towards  compensating  the  Persons  at 
present  entitled  to  the  Services  of  the  Slaves  to  be  manumitted 
and  set  free  by  virtue  of  this  Act  for  the  Loss  of  such  Services, 
His  Majesty's  most  dutiful  and  loyal  Subjects  the  Commons  of 
Great  Britain  and  Ireland  in  Parliament  assembled  have  resolved 
to  give  and  grant  to  His  Majesty  the  Sum  of  Twenty  Millions 
Pounds  Sterling;  be  it  enacted,  That  the  Lords  Commissioners 
of  His  Majesty's  Treasury  of  the  United  Kingdom  of  Great  Brit- 
ain and  Ireland  may  raise  such  Sum  or  Sums  of  Money  as  shall 
be  required  from  Time  to  Time  under  the  Provisions  of  this  Act, 
and  may  grant  as  the  Consideration  for  such  Sum  or  Sums  of 
Money  Redeemable  Perpetual  Annuities  or  Annuities  for  Terms 
of  Years.  *  *  * 


XXXIII.  And  for  the  Distribution  of  the  said  Compensation 
Fund,  and  the  Apportionment  thereof  amongst  the  several  Per- 
sons who  may  prefer  Claims  thereon,  be  it  enacted,  That  it  shall 
and  may  be  lawful  for  His  Majesty  from  Time  to  Time,  by  a 
Commission  under  the  Great  Seal  of  the  United  Kingdom,  to 
constitute  and  appoint  such  Persons,  not  being  less  than  Five,  as 
to  His  Majesty  shall  seem  meet,  to  be  Commissioners  of  Arbitra- 
tion for  inquiring  into  and  deciding  upon  the  Claims  to  Com- 
pensation which  may  be  preferred  to  them  under  this  Act. 


XLV.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  said  Commissioners 
shall  proceed  to  apportion  the  said  Sum  into  Nineteen  different 
Shares,  which  shall  be  respectively  assigned  to  the  several  British 
Colonies  or  Possessions  hereinafter  mentioned;  (that  is  to  say,) 
the  Bermuda  Islands,  the  Bahama  Islands,  Jamaica,  Honduras, 


Abolition  of  Negro  Slavery  529 

the  Virgin  Islands,  Antigua,  Montserrat,  Nevis,  Saint  Christo- 
pher's, Dominica,  Barbadoes,  Grenada,  Saint  Vincent's,  Tobago, 
Saint  Lucia,  Trinidad,  British  Guiana,  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope, 
and  Mauritius;  and  in  making  such  Apportionment  of  the  said 
Funds  between  the  said  several  Colonies  the  said  Commissioners 
shall  and  are  hereby  required  to  have  regard  to  the  Number  of 
Slaves  belonging  to  or  settled  in  each  of  such  Colonies  as  the 
same  may  appear  and  are  stated  according  to  the  latest  Returns 
made  in  the  Office  of  the  Registrar  of  Slaves  in  England,  ap- 
pointed in  pursuance  and  under  the  Authority  of  an  Act  passed 
in  the  Fifty-ninth  Year  of  His  late  Majesty  King  George  the 
Third,  intituled  An  Act  for  establishing  a  Registry  of  Colonial 
Slaves  in  Great  Britain,  and  for  making  further  Provision  with 
respect  to  the  Removal  of  Slaves  from  British  Colonies;  and  the 
said  Commissioners  shall  and  they  are  hereby  further  required, 
in  making  such  Apportionment  as  aforesaid,  to  have  regard  to 
the  Prices  for  which,  on  an  Average  of  Eight  Years  ending  on  the 
Thirty-first  Day  of  December  One  thousand  eight  hundred  and 
thirty,  Slaves  have  been  sold  in  each  of  the  Colonies  aforesaid 
respectively,  excluding  from  Consideration  any  such  Sales  in 
which  they  shall  have  sufficient  Reason  to  suppose  that  such 
Slaves  were  sold  or  purchased  under  any  Reservation,  or  subject 
to  any  express  or  tacit  Condition  affecting  the  Price  thereof;  and 
the  said  Commissioners  shall  then  proceed  to  ascertain,  in  refer- 
ence to  each  Colony,  what  Amount  of  Sterling  Money  will  repre- 
sent the  average  Value  of  a  Slave  therein  for  the  said  Period  of 
Eight  Years:  and  the  total  Number  of  the  Slaves  in  each  Colony 
being  multiplied  into  the  Amount  of  Sterling  Money  so  represent- 
ing such  average  Value  as  aforesaid  of  a  Slave  therein,  the  Prod- 
uct of  such  Multiplication  shall  be  ascertained  for  each  such 
Colony  separately;  and  the  said  Twenty  Millions  of  Pounds  Sterl- 
ing shall  then  be  assigned  to  and  apportioned  amongst  the  said 
several  Colonies  rateably  and  in  proportion  to  the  Product  so 
ascertained  for  each  respectively. 


5JO  English  Constitutional  Documents 

265.    Affirmation  allowed  instead  of  Oath 

(1833,  August  28.     3  &  4  William  IV.  c.  82.) 

WHEREAS  there  are  in  various  Places  in  Ireland,  and  in 
some  Parts  of  England,  and  elsewhere,  certain  Dissenters 
from  the  United  Church  of  England  and  Ireland,  and  from  the 
Church  of  Scotland,  commonly  called  Separatists,  the  Members 
of  which  Class  or  Sect  of  Dissenters,  from  conscientious  Scruples, 
refuse  to  take  an  Oath  in  Courts  of  Justice  and  other  Places,  and 
in  consequence  thereof  are  exposed  to  great  Losses  and  Incon- 
veniences in  their  Trades  and  Concerns,  and  are  subject  to  Fines 
and  to  Imprisonment  for  Contempt  of  Court,  and  the  Community 
at  large  are  deprived  of  the  Benefit  of  their  Testimony:  And 
whereas  it  is  therefore  expedient  that  the  said  Sect  called  Sepa- 
ratists should  be  relieved  in  manner  hereinafter  mentioned;  be 
it  enacted  by  the  King's  most  Excellent  Majesty,  by  and  with 
the  Advice  and  Consent  of  the  Lords  Spiritual  and  Temporal, 
and  Commons,  in  this  present  Parliament  assembled,  and  by  the 
Authority  of  the  same,  That  every  Person  for  the  Time  being  be- 
longing to  the  said  Sect  called  Separatists,  who  shall  be  required 
upon  any  lawful  Occasion  to  take  an  Oath  in  any  Case  where  by 
Law  an  Oath  is  or  may  be  required,  shall,  instead  of  the  usual 
Form,  be  permitted  to  make  his  or  her  solemn  Affirmation  or 
Declaration  in  these  Words  following;  videlicet, 

'I  A.  B.  do,  in  the  Presence  of  Almighty  God,  solemnly,  sin- 
cerely, and  truly  affirm  and  declare  that  I  am  a  Member  of  the 
Religious  Sect  called  Separatists,  and  that  the  taking  of  any  Oath 
is  contrary  to  my  Religious  Belief,  as  well  as  essentially  opposed 
to  the  Tenets  of  that  Sect;  and  I  do  also  in  the  same  solemn 
Manner  affirm  and  declare' 

Which  said  solemn  Affirmation  or  Declaration  shall  be  adjudged 
and  taken,  and  is  hereby  enacted  and  declared  to  be  of  the  same 
Force  and  Effect,  to  all  Intents  and  Purposes,  in  all  Courts  of 
Justice  and  other  Places  whatsoever  where  by  Law  an  Oath  is  or 
may  be  required,  as  if  such  Separatists  had  taken  an  Oath  in  the 
usual  Form. 

II.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  if  any  Person  making  such 
solemn  Affirmation  or  Declaration  shall  in  fact  not  be  one  of  the 
People  commonly  called  Separatists,  or  shall  wilfully,  falsely,  and 
corruptly  affirm  or  declare  any  other  Matter  or  Thing  which  if  the 
same  had  been  sworn  in  the  usual  Form  would  have  amounted  to 


Jewish  Relief  Act  •          531 

wilful  and  corrupt  Perjury,  every  such  Person  so  offending  shall 
incur  the  same  Penalties  and  Forfeitures  as  by  the  Laws  and 
Statutes  of  this  Kingdom  are  or  may  be  enacted  or  provided 
against  Persons  convicted  of  wilful  and  corrupt  Perjury. 


266.    Jewish  Relief  Act 

(1858,  July  23.     21  &  22  Victoria,  c.  49.) 

BE  it  enacted  by  the  Queen's  most  Excellent  Majesty,  by  and 
with  the  Advice  and  Consent  of  the  Lords  Spiritual  and 
Temporal,  and  Commons,  in  this  present  Parliament  assembled, 
and  by  the  Authority  of  the  same,  as  follows : 

I.  Where  it  shall  appear  to  either  House  of  Parliament  that  a 
Person  professing  the  Jewish  Religion,  otherwise  entitled  to  sit 
and  vote  in  such  House,  is  prevented  from  so  sitting  and  voting 
by  his  conscientious  Objection  to  take  the  Oath  which  by  an  Act 
passed  or  to  be  passed  in  the  present  Session  of  Parliament  has 
been  or  may  be  substituted  for  the  Oaths  of  Allegiance,  Suprem- 
acy, and  Abjuration  in  the  Form  therein  required,  such  House, 
if  it  think  fit,  may  resolve  that  thenceforth  any  Person  professing 
the  Jewish  Religion,  in  taking  the  said  Oath  to  entitle  him  to  sit 
and  vote  as  aforesaid,  may  omit  the  Words  "and  I  make  this 
Declaration  upon  the  true  Faith  of  a  Christian,"  and  so  long  as 
such  Resolution  shall  continue  in  force  .  the   said  Oath,  when 
taken  and  subscribed  by  any  Person  professing  the  Jewish  Reli- 
gion to  entitle  him  to  sit  and  vote  in  that  House  of  Parliament, 
maybe  modified  accordingly;  and  the  taking  and  subscribing  by 
any  Person  professing  the  Jewish  Religion  of  the  Oath  so  modi- 
fied shall,  as  far  as  respects  the  Title  to  sit  and  vote  in  such 
House,  have  the  same  Foree  and  Effect  as  the  taking  and  sub- 
scribing by  other  Persons  of  the  said  Oath  in  the  Form  required 
by  the  said  Act. 

II.  In  all  other  Cases,  except  for  sitting  in   Parliament  as 
aforesaid,  or  in  qualifying  to  exercise  the  Right  of  Presentation 
to  any  Ecclesiastical  Benefice  in  Scotland,  whenever  any  of  Her 
Majesty's  Subjects  professing  the  Jewish  Religion  shall  be  re- 
quired to  take  the  said  Oath,  the  Words  "and  I  make  this  Decla- 
ration upon  the  true  Faith  of  a  Christian"  shall  be  omitted. 

III.  Nothing  herein  contained  shall  extend  or  be  construed 


5J2  English  Constitutional  Documents 

to  extend  to  enable  any  Person  or  Persons  professing  the  Jewish 
Religion  to  hold  or  exercise  the  Office  of  Guardians  and  Justices 
of  the  United  Kingdom,  or  of  Regent  of  the  United  Kingdom, 
under  whatever  Name,  Style,  or  Title  such  Office  may  be  consti- 
tuted, or  of  Lord  High  Chancellor,  Lord  Keeper  or  Lord  Com- 
missioner of  the  Great  Seal  of  Great  Britain  or  Ireland,  or  the 
Office  of  Lord  Lieutenant  or  Deputy  or  other  Chief  Governor  or 
Governors  of  Ireland,  or  Her  Majesty's  High  Commissioner  to 
the  General  Assembly  of  the  Church  of  Scotland. 

IV.  Where  any  Right  of  Presentation  to  any  Ecclesiastical 
Benefice  shall  belong  to  any  Office  in  the  Gift  or  Appointment  of 
Her  Majesty,  Her  Heirs  or  Successors,  and  such  Office  shall  be 
held  by  a  Person  professing  the  Jewish  Religion,  the  Right  of 
Presentation  shall  devolve  upon  and  be  exercised  by  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury  for  the  Time  being;  and  it  shall  not  be 
lawful  for  any  Person  professing  the  Jewish  Religion,  directly  or 
indirectly,  to  advise  Her  Majesty,  Her  Heirs  or  Successors,  or 
any  Person  or  Persons  holding  or  exercising  the  Office  of  Guard- 
ians of  the  United  Kingdom,  or  of  Regent  of  the  United  King- 
dom, under  whatever  Name,  Style,  or  Title  such  Office  may  be 
constituted,  or  the  Lord  Lieutenant  or  Lord  Deputy,  or  any  other 
Chief  Governor  or  Governors  of  Ireland,  touching  or  concerning 
the  Appointment  to  or  Disposal  of  any  Office  or  Preferment  in 
the  United  Church  of  England  and  Ireland  or  in  the  Church  of 
Scotland;  and  if  such  Person  shall  offend  in  the  Premises  he 
shall,  being  thereof  convicted  by  due  Course  of  Law,  be  deemed 
guilty  of  a  high  Misdemeanor,  and  disabled  for  ever  from  hold- 
ing any  Office,  Civil  or  Military,  under  the  Crown. 


267.    Reform  Act  of  1867 

(1867,  August  15.     30  &  31  Victoria,  c.  102.) 

WHEREAS  it  is  expedient  to  amend  the  laws  relating  to  the 
representation  of  the  people  in  England  and  Wales : 
Be  it  enacted  by  the  queen's  most  excellent  Majesty,  by  and 
with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  lords  spiritual  and  temporal, 
and  commons,  in  this  present  parliament  assembled,  and  by  the 
authority  of  the  same  as  follows: 

i.   This  act  shall  be  cited  for  all  purposes  as  "The  Representa- 
tion of  the  People  Act,  1867." 


Reform  Act  of  1867  533 

2.  This  act  shall  not  apply  to  Scotland  or  Ireland,  nor  in  any 
wise  affect  the  election  of  members  to  serve  in  parliament  for  the 
universities  of  Oxford  or  Cambridge. 

PART  I 

FRANCHISES 

3.  Every  man  shall,  on  and  after  the  year  one  thousand  eight 
hundred  and  sixty-eight,  be  entitled  to  be  registered  as  a  voter, 
and,  when  registered,  to  vote  for  a  member  or  members  to  serve 
in  parliament  for  a  borough,  who  is  qualified  as  follows;  (that  is 
to  say,) 

1.  Is  of  full  age,  and  not  subject  to  any  legal  incapacity; 

and 

2.  Is  on  the  last  day  of  July  in  any  year,  and  has  during  the 

whole  of  the  preceding  twelve  calendar  months  been, 
an  inhabitant  occupier,  as  owner  or  tenant,  of  any 
dwelling  house  within  the  borough;  and 

3.  Has  during  the  time  of  such  occupation  been  rated  as  an 

ordinary  occupier  in  respect  of  the  premises  so  occu- 
pied by  him  within  the  borough  to  all  rates  (if  any) 
made  for  the  relief  of  the  poor  in  respect  of  such 
premises;  and 

4.  Has  on  or  before  the  twentieth  day  of  July  in  the  same 

year  bona  fide  paid  an  equal  amount  in  the  pound  to 
that  payable  by  other  ordinary  occupiers  in  respect  of 
all  poor  rates  that  have  become  payable  by  him  in 
respect  of  the  said  premises  up  to  the  preceding  fifth 
day  of  January : 

Provided  that  no  man  shall  under  this  section  be  entitled  to 
be  registered  as  a  voter  by  reason  of  his  being  a  joint  occupier 
of  any  dwelling  house. 

4.  Every  man  shall,  in  and  after  the  year  one  thousand  eight 
hundred  and  sixty-eight,  be  entitled  to  be  registered  as  a  voter, 
and,  when  registered,  to  vote  for  a  member  or  members  to  serve 
in  parliament  for  a  borough,  who  is  qualified  as  follows;  (that  is 
to  say,) 

1.  Is  of  full  age  and  not  subject  to  any  legal  incapacity, 

and 

2.  As  a  lodger  has  occupied  in  the  same  borough  separately 

and  as  sole  tenant  for  the  twelve  months  preceding  the 
last  day  of  July  in  any  year  the  same  lodgings,  such 


534  English  Constitutional  Documents 

lodgings  being  part  of  one  and  the  same  dwelling 
house,  and  of  a  clear  yearly  value,  if  let  unfurnished, 
of  ten  pounds  or  upwards;  and 

3.  Has  resided  in  such  lodgings  for  the  twelve  months  im- 
mediately preceding  the  last  day  of  July,  and  has 
claimed  to  be  registered  as  a  voter  at  the  next  ensuing 
registration  of  voters. 

5.  Every  man  shall,  in  and  after  the  year  one  thousand  eight 
hundred  and  sixty-eight,  be  entitled  to  be  registered  as  a  voter, 
and,  when  registered,  to  vote  for  a  member  or  members  to  serve 
in  parliament  for  a  county,  who  is  qualified  as  follows;  (that  is 
to  say,) 

i.    Is  of  full  age,  and  not  subject  to  any  legal  incapacity, 
and  is  seised  at  law  or  in  equity  of  any  lands  or  tene- 
ments of  freehold,  copyhold,  or  any  other  tenure  what- 
ever, for  his  own  life,  or  for  the  life  of  another,  or  for 
any   lives  whatsoever,  or  for  any  larger  estate  of  the 
clear  yearly  value  of  not  less  than  five  pounds  over  and 
above  all  rents  and  charges  payable  out  of  or  in  respect 
of  the  same,  or  who  is   entitled,  either  as  lessee  or 
assignee,  to  any  lands  or  tenements  of  freehold  or  of 
any  other  tenure  whatever  for  the  unexpired  residue, 
whatever  it  may  be,  of  any  term  originally  created  for 
a  period  of  not  less  than  sixty  years  (whether  determin- 
able  on  a  life  or  lives  or  not),  of  the  clear  yearly  value 
of  not  less  than  five  pounds  over  and  above  all  rents 
and  charges  payable  out  of  or  in  respect  of  the  same : 
Provided  that  no  person  shall  be  registered  as  a  voter   under 
this  section  unless  he  has  complied  with  the  provisions  of  the 
twenty-sixth  section  of  the  act  of  the  second  year  of  the  reign  of 
His  Majesty  William  the  Fourth,  Chapter  forty-five. 

6.  Every  man  shall,  in  and  after  the  year  one  thousand  eight 
hundred  and  sixty-eight,  be  entitled  to  be  registered  as  a  voter, 
and,  when  registered,  to  vote  for  a  member  or  members  to  serve 
in  parliament  for  a  county,  who  is  qualified  as  follows;  (that  is 
to  say,) 

1.  Is  of  full  age,  and  not  subject  to  any  legal  incapacity, 

and 

2.  Is  on  the  last  day  of  July  in  any  year,  and  has  during  the 

twelve  months  immediately  preceding  been,  the  occu- 
pier, as  owner  or  tenant,  of  lands  or  tenants  within 
the  county  of  the  rateable  value  of  twelve  pounds  or 
upwards;  and 


Reform  Act  of  1867  535 

Has  during  the  time  of  such  occupation  been  rated  in 
respect  to  the  premises  so  occupied  by  him  to  all  rates 
(if  any)  made  for  the  relief  of  the  poor  in  respect  of 
the  said  premises;  and 

Has  on  or  before  the  twentieth  day  of  July  in  the  same 
year  paid  all  poor  rates  that  have  become  payable  by 
him  in  respect  of  the  said  premises  up  to  the  preced- 
ing fifth  day  of  January. 


PART  II 
DISTRIBUTION  OF  SEATS 

17.  From  and  after  the  end  of  this  present  parliament,  no 
borough  which  has  a  less  population  than  ten  thousand  at  the 
census  of  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  sixty-one  shall  return 
more  than  one  member  to  serve  in  parliament,  such  boroughs 
being  enumerated  in  schedule  (A.)  [38  in  all]  to  this  act  annexed. 

1 8.  From  and  after  the  end  of  this  present  parliament,  the 
city  of  Manchester,  and  the  boroughs  of  Liverpool,  Birmingham, 
and  Leeds,  shall  each  respectively  return  three  members  to  serve 
in  parliament. 

19.  Each  of  the  places  named  in  schedule  (B.)  [10  in  all]  to 
this  act  annexed  shall  be  a  borough,  and,  until  otherwise  directed 
by  parliament,  each  such  borough  shall  comprise  such  places  as  are 
specified  and  described  in  connection  with  the  name  of  each 
such  borough  in  the  said  schedule  (B.) ;  and  in  all  future  parlia- 
ments the  borough  of  Chelsea,  named  in  the  said  schedule,  shall 
return  two  members,  and  each  of  the  other  boroughs  named  in 
the  said  schedule  shall  return  one  member  to  serve  in  parliament. 

20.  Registers  of  voters  shall  be  formed  in  and  after  the  year 
one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  sixty-eight,  notwithstanding  the 
continuance  of  this  present  parliament,  for  or  in  respect  of  the 
boroughs  constituted  by  this  act,   in  like  manner  as  if  before 
the  passing  of  this  act  they  respectively  had  been  boroughs  return- 
ing members  to  serve  in  parliament. 

21.  From  and  after  the  end  of  the  present  parliament,  the 
boroughs  of  Merthyr  Tydfil  and  Salford   shall  each  return  two 
members  instead  of  one  to  serve  in  future  parliaments;  and  the 
borough  of  the  Tower  Hamlets  shall  be  divided  into  two  divi- 
sions, and  each  division  shall  in  all  future  parliaments  be  a  sepa- 
rate borough  returning  two  members  to  serve  in  parliament. 


536  English  Constitutional  Documents 

The  said  divisions  shall  be  known  by  the  name  of  the  borough 
of  Hackney  and  the  borough  of  the  Tower  Hamlets,  and,  until 
otherwise  directed  by  parliament,  shall  comprise  the  places  men- 
tioned in  connection  with  each  such  borough  in  schedule  (C.) 
hereto  annexed. 

22.  Registers  of  voters  shall  be  formed  in  and  after  the  year 
one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  sixty-eight,  notwithstanding  the 
continuance  of  this  present  parliament,  in  respect  of  the  said 
boroughs  of    Hackney  and  of  the    Tower  Hamlets  constituted 
under  this  act  in  like  manner  as  if  such  divisions  had  previously 
to  the  passing  of  this  act  been  separate  boroughs  returning  mem- 
bers to  serve  in  parliament. 

23.  From  and  after  the  end  of  the  present  parliament,  each 
county  named  in  the  first  column  of  schedule  (D.)  [8  counties 
divided  into  3  divisions,  4  divisions  of  counties  made  in  1832 
divided  into  2  divisions,  and  the  west  riding  of  Yorkshire  divided 
into  3  divisions]  to  this  act  annexed  shall  be  divided  into  the 
divisions  named  in  the  second  column  of  the  said  schedule,  and, 
until  otherwise  directed  by  parliament,  each  of  such  divisions 
shall  consist  of  the  hundreds,   lathes,  wapentakes,  and  places 
mentioned  in  the  third  column  of  the  said  schedule. 

In  all  future  parliaments  there  shall  be  two  members  to  serve 
for  each  of  the  divisions  specified  in  the  said  second  column, 
and  such  members  shall  be  chosen  in  the  same  manner, 
and  by  the  same  description  of  voters,  and  in  respect  of  the 
same  rights  of  voting,  as  if  each  such  division  were  a  separate 
county. 

All  enactments  relating  to  divisions  of  counties  returning 
members  to  serve  in  parliament  shall  be  deemed  to  apply  to  the 
divisions  constituted  as  aforesaid. 

Registers  of  voters  shall  be  formed  in  and  after  the  year  one 
thousand  eight  hundred  and  sixty-eight,  notwithstanding  the 
continuance  of  this  present  parliament,  for  or  in  respect  of  the 
divisions  of  counties  constituted  by  this  act,  in  like  manner  as  if 
before  the  passing  of  this  act  they  had  respectively  been  counties 
returning  members  to  serve  in  parliament. 

24.  In  all  future  parliaments  the  university  of  London  shall 
return  one  member  to  serve  in  parliament. 

25.  Every  man  whose  name  is  for  the  time  being  on  the  regis- 
ter of  graduates  constituting  the  convocation  of  the  university  of 
London  shall,  if  of  full  age,  and  not  subject  to  any  legal  inca- 
pacity, be  entitled  to  vote  in  the  election  of  a  member  to  serve 
in  any  future  parliament  for  the  said  university. 


Reform  Act  of  1867  537 


PART  III 
SUPPLEMENTAL  PROVISION 


REGISTRATION  OF  VOTERS 

30.  The  following  regulations  shall  in  and  after  the  year  one 
thousand  eight  hundred  and  sixty-eight  be  observed  with  respect 
to  the  registration  of  voters : 

i.  The  overseers  of  every  parish  or  township  shall  make  out 
or  cause  to  be  made  out  a  list  of  all  persons  on  whom 
a  right  to  vote  for  a  county  in  respect  of  the  occupation 
of  premises  is  conferred  by  this  act,  in  the  same  man- 
ner, and  subject  to  the  same  regulations,  as  nearly  as 
circumstances  admit,  in  and  subject  to  which  the  over- 
seers of  parishes  and  townships  in  boroughs  are  re- 
quired by  the  registration  acts  to  make  out  or  cause  to 
be  made  out  a  list  of  all  persons  entitled  to  vote  for  a 
member  or  members  for  a  borough  in  respect  of  the 
occupation  of  premises  of  a  clear  yearly  value  of  not 
less  than  ten  pounds : 

MISCELLANEOUS 

51.  Whereas  great  inconvenience  may  arise  from  the  enact- 
ments now  in  force  limiting  the  duration  of  the  parliament  in 
being  at  the  demise  of  the  crown:  be  it  therefore  enacted,  that 
the  parliament  in  being  at  any  future  demise  of  the  crown  shall 
not  be  determined  or  dissolved  by  such  demise,  but  shall  con- 
tinue so  long  as  it  would  have  continued  but  for  such  demise, 
unless  it  should  be  sooner  prorogued  or  dissolved  by  the  crown, 
anything  in  the  act  passed  in  the  sixth  year  of  Her  late  Majesty 
queen  Anne,  chapter  seven,  in  any  way  notwithstanding. 

52.  Whereas  it   is  expedient  to  amend   the  law  relating  to 
offices  of  profit  the  acceptance  of  which  from  the  crown  vacates 
the  seats  of  members  accepting  the  same,  but  does  not  render 
them  incapable  of  being  reflected :  be  it  enacted,  that  where  a 
person  has  been  returned  as  a  member  to  serve  in  parliament 
since  the  acceptance  by  him  from  the  crown  of  any  office  de- 
scribed in  schedule  (H.)  to  this  act  annexed,   the  subsequent 
acceptance  by  him  from  the  crown  of  any  other  office  or  offices 
described  in  such  schedule  in  lieu  of  and  in  immediate  succession 
the  one  to  the  other  shall  not  vacate  his  seat. 


538          English  Constitutional  Documents 

268.    Disestablishment  of  the  Irish  Church 

(1869,  July  26.     32  &  33  Victoria,  c.  42.) 

WHEREAS  it  is  expedient  that  the  union  created  by  act  of 
parliament  between  the  churches  of  England  and  Ireland, 
as  by  law  established,  should  be  dissolved,  and  that  the  Church 
of  Ireland,  as  so  separated,  should  cease  to  be  established  by 
law,  and  that  after  satisfying,  so  far  as  possible,  upon  principles 
of  equality  as  between  the  several  religious  denominations  of  Ire- 
land, all  just  and  equitable  claims,  the  property  of  the  said 
Church  of  Ireland,  or  the  proceeds  thereof,  should  be  applied  in 
such  manner  as  parliament  shall  hereafter  direct: 

And  whereas  Her  Majesty  has  been  graciously  pleased  to  sig- 
nify that  she  has  placed  at  the  disposal  of  parliament  her  interests 
in  the  several  archbishoprics,  bishoprics,  benefices,  cathedral  pre- 
ferments, and  other  ecclesiastical  dignities  and  offices  in  Ireland : 

Be  it  therefore  enacted  by  the  queen's  most  excellent  Majesty, 
by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  lords  spiritual  and 
temporal,  and  commons,  in  this  present  parliament  assembled, 
and  by  the  authority  of  the  same,  as  follows : 

1.  This  act  may   be  cited  for  all   purposes  as  "The  Irish 
Church  Act,  1869." 

2.  On  and  after  the  first  day  of  January  one  thousand  eight 
hundred  and  seventy-one  the  said  union  created  by  act  of  parlia- 
ment between  the  Churches  of  England   and  Ireland  shall   be 
dissolved,  and  the  said  Church  of  Ireland,  herein-after  referred 
to  as  "the  said  church,"  shall  cease  to  be  established  by  law. 


269.    Education  Act 

(1870,  August  9.     33  &  34  Victoria,  c.  75.) 

SUPPLY  OF  SCHOOLS 

5.  THERE  shall  be  provided  for  every  school  district  a  suffi- 
cient amount  of  accommodation  in  public  elementary  schools  (as 
herein-after  defined)  available  for  all  the  children  resident  in 


Education  Act  539 

such  district  for  whose  elementary  education  efficient  and  suitable 
provision  is  not  otherwise  made,  and  where  there  is  an  insufficient 
amount  of  such  accommodation,  in  this  act  referred  to  as  "  public 
school  accommodation,"  the  deficiency  shall  be  supplied  in 
manner  provided  by  this  act. 

6.  Where  the  education  department,  in  the  manner  provided 
by  this  act,  are  satisfied  and  have  given  public  notice  that  there 
is  an  insufficient  amount  of  such  accommodation  for  any  school 
district,  and  the  deficiency  is  not  supplied  as  herein-after  re- 
quired, a  school  board  shall  be  formed  for  such  district  and  shall 
supply  such  deficiency,  and  in  case  of  default  by  the  school  board 
the  education  department  shall  cause  the  duty  of  such  board  to 
be  performed  in  manner  provided  by  this  act. 


MANAGEMENT  AND  MAINTENANCE  OF  SCHOOLS  BY  SCHOOL  BOARD 

14.  Every  school  provided  by  a  school  board  shall  be  con- 
ducted under  the  control  and  management  of  such  board  in 
accordance  with  the  following  regulations: 

(1)  The  school  shall  be  a  public  elementary  school  within 

the  meaning  of  this  act : 

(2)  No  religious  catechism  or  religious  formulary  which  is 

distinctive  of  any  particular  denomination  shall  be 
taught  in  the  school. 


17.  Every  child  attending  a  school  provided  by  any  school 
board  shall  pay  such  weekly  fee  as  may  be  prescribed  by  the 
school  board,  with  the  consent  of  the  education  department,  but 
the  school  board  may  from  time  to  time,  for  a  renewable  period 
not  exceeding  six  months,  remit  the  whole  or  any  part  of  such 
fee  in  the  case  of  any  child  when  they  are  of  opinion  that  the 
parent  of  such  child  is  unable  from  poverty  to  pay  the  same,  but 
such  remission  shall  not  be  deemed  to  be  parochial  relief  given 
to  such  parent. 


CONSTITUTION  OF  SCHOOL  BOARDS 

29.  The  school  board  shall  be  elected  in  manner  provided  by 
this  act,  —  in  a  borough  by  the  persons  whose  names  are  on  the 
burgess  roll  of  such  borough  for  the  time  being  in  force,  and  in 
a  parish  not  situate  in  the  metropolis  by  the  ratepayers. 


540          English  Constitutional  Documents 

At  every  such  election  every  voter  shall  be  entitled  to  a  nunv 
her  of  votes  equal  to  the  number  of  the  members  of  the  school 
board  to  be  elected,  and  may  give  all  such  votes  to  one  candi- 
date, or  may  distribute  them  among  the  candidates,  as  he  thinks 
fit. 

The  school  board  in  the  metropolis  shall  be  elected  in  manner 
herein-after  provided  by  this  act. 

30.  With  respect  to  the  constitution  of  a  school  board  the  fol- 
lowing provisions  shall  have  effect : 

(i)  The  school  board  shall  be  a  body  corporate,  by  the 
name  of  the  school  board  of  the  district  to  which 
they  belong,  having  a  perpetual  succession  and  a 
common  seal,  with  power  to  acquire  and  hold  land 
for  the  purposes  of  this  act  without  any  license  in 
mortmain : 


40.  Where  the  education  department  are  of  opinion  that  it 
would  be  expedient  to  form  a  school  district  larger  than  a 
borough  or  a  parish  or  any  school  district  formed  under  this  act, 
they  may,  except  in  the  metropolis,  by  order  made  after  such 
inquiry  and  notice  as  herein-after  mentioned,  form  a  united 
school  district  by  uniting  any  two  or  more  adjoining  school  dis- 
tricts, and  upon  such  union  cause  a  school  board  to  be  formed 
for  such  united  school  district. 


270.    The  Ballot  Act 

(1872,  July  1 8.    35  &  36  Victoria,  c.  33.) 

WHEREAS  it  is  expedient  to  amend  the  law  relating  to  pro- 
cedure at  parliamentary  and  municipal  elections : 
Be  it  enacted  by  the  queen's  most  excellent  Majesty,  by  and 
with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  lords  spiritual  and  temporal, 
and  commons,  in  this  present  parliament  assembled,  and  by  the 
authority  of  the  same,  as  follows : 


The  Ballot  Act  541 

PART  I 

PARLIAMENTARY  ELECTIONS 
PROCEDURE  AT  ELECTIONS 

1.  A  candidate  for  election  to  serve  in  parliament  for  a  county 
or  borough  shall  be  nominated  in  writing.     The  writing  shall  be 
subscribed  by  two  registered  electors  of  such  county  or  borough 
as  proposer  and  seconder,  and  by  eight  other  registered  electors 
of  the  same  county  or  borough  as  assenting  to  the  nomination, 
and  shall  be  delivered  during  the  time  appointed  for  the  election 
to  the  returning  officer  by  the  candidate  himself,  or  his  proposer 
or  seconder. 

If  at  the  expiration  of  one  hour  after  the  time  appointed  for 
the  election  no  more  candidates  stand  nominated  than  there  are 
vacancies  to  be  filled  up,  the  returning  officer  shall  forthwith 
declare  the  candidates  who  may  stand  nominated  to  be  elected, 
and  return  their  names  to  the  clerk  of  the  crown  in  chancery;  but 
if  at  the  expiration  of  such  hour  more  candidates  stand  nomi- 
nated than  there  are  vacancies  to  be  filled  up,  the  returning  officer 
shall  adjourn  the  election  and  shall  take  a  poll  in  manner  in  this 
act  mentioned. 

A  candidate  may,  during  the  time  appointed  for  the  election, 
but  not  afterwards,  withdraw  from  his  candidature  by  giving  a 
notice  to  that  effect,  signed  by  him,  to  the  returning  officer :  pro- 
vided that  the  proposer  of  a  candidate  nominated  in  his  absence 
out  of  the  United  Kingdom  may  withdraw  such  candidate  by  a 
written  notice  signed  by  him  and  delivered  to  the  returning 
officer,  together  with  a  written  declaration  of  such  absence  of  the 
candidate. 

If  after  the  adjournment  of  an  election  by  the  returning  officer 
for  the  purpose  of  taking  a  poll  one  of  the  candidates  nominated 
shall  die  before  the  poll  has  commenced,  the  returning  officer 
shall,  upon  being  satisfied  of  the  fact  of  such  death,  countermand 
notice  of  the  poll,  and  all  the  proceedings  with  reference  to  the 
election  shall  be  commenced  afresh  in  all  respects  as  if  the  writ 
had  been  received  by  the  returning  officer  on  the  day  on  which 
proof  was  given  to  him  of  such  death;  provided  that  no  fresh 
nomination  shall  be  necessary  in  the  case  of  a  candidate  who 
stood  nominated  at  the  time  of  the  countermand  of  the  poll. 

2.  In  the  case  of  a  poll  at  an  election  the  votes  shall  be  given 
by  ballot.     The  ballot  of  each  voter  shall  consist  of  a  paper  (in 
this  act  called  a  ballot  paper)  showing  the  names  and  descrip- 


542          English  Constitutional  Documents 

tion  of  the  candidates.  Each  ballot  paper  shall  have  a  number 
printed  on  the  back,  and  shall  have  attached  a  counterfoil  with  the 
same  number  printed  on  the  face.  At  the  time  of  voting,  the 
ballot  paper  shall  be  marked  on  both  sides  with  an  official  mark, 
and  delivered  to  the  voter  within  the  polling  station,  and  the 
number  of  such  voter  on  the  register  of  voters  shall  be  marked  on 
the  counterfoil,  and  the  voter  having  secretly  marked  his  vote  on 
the  paper,  and  folded  it  up  so  as  to  conceal  his  vote,  shall  place 
it  in  a  closed  box  in  the  presence  of  the  officer  presiding  at  the 
polling  station  (in  this  act  called  "  the  presiding  officer  ")  after 
having  shown  to  him  the  official  mark  at  the  back. 

Any  ballot  paper  which  has  not  on  its  back  the  official  mark, 
or  on  which  votes  are  given  to  more  candidates  than  the  voter  is 
entitled  to  vote  for,  or  on  which  anything,  except  the  said  num- 
ber on  the  back,  is  written  or  marked  by  which  the  voter  can  be 
identified,  shall  be  void  and  not  counted. 

After  the  close  of  the  poll  the  ballot  boxes  shall  be  sealed  up, 
so  as  to  prevent  the  introduction  of  additional  ballot  papers,  and 
shall  be  taken  charge  of  by  the  returning  officer,  and  that  officer 
shall,  in  the  presence  of  such  agents,  if  any,  of  the  candidates  as 
may  be  in  attendance,  open  the  ballot  boxes,  and  ascertain  the 
result  of  the  poll  by  counting  the  votes  given  to  each  candidate, 
and  shall  forthwith  declare  to  be  elected  the  candidates  or  candi- 
date to  whom  the  majority  of  votes  have  been  given,  and  return 
their  names  to  the  clerk  of  the  crown  in  chancery.  The  decision 
of  the  returning  officer  as  to  any  question  arising  in  respect  of 
any  ballot  paper  shall  be  final,  subject  to  reversal  on  petition 
questioning  the  election  or  return. 

Where  an  equality  of  votes  is  found  to  exist  between  any  can- 
didates at  an  election  for  a  county  or  borough,  and  the  addition 
of  a  vote  would  entitle  any  of  such  candidates  to  be  declared 
elected,  the  returning  officer,  if  a  registered  elector  of  such 
county  or  borough,  may  give  such  additional  vote,  but  shall  not 
in  any  other  case  be  entitled  to  vote  at  an  election  for  which  he 
is  returning  officer. 


PART   II 

MUNICIPAL  ELECTIONS 

20.  The  poll  at  every  contested  municipal  election  shall,  so 
far  as  circumstances  admit,  be  conducted  in  the  manner  in  which 
the  poll  is  by  this  act  directed  to  be  conducted  at  a  contested 


Supreme  Court  of  Judicature  Act  543 

parliamentary  election,  and,  subject  to  the  modifications  ex- 
pressed in  the  schedules  annexed  hereto,  such  provision  of  this 
act  and  of  the  said  schedules  as  relate  to  or  are  concerned  with  a 
poll  at  a  parliamentary  election  shall  apply  to  a  poll  at  a  con- 
tested municipal  election :  *  *  * 


271.    Supreme  Court  of  Judicature  Act 

(1873,  August  5.    36  &  37  Victoria,  c.  66.) 

WHEREAS  it  is  expedient  to  constitute  a  supreme  court,  and 
to  make  provision  for  the  better  administration  of  justice 
in  England : 

And  whereas  it  is  also  expedient  to  alter  and  amend  the  law  re- 
lating to  the  judicial  committee  of  Her  Majesty's  privy  council: 
Be  it  enacted  by  the  queen's  most  excellent  Majesty,  by  and 
with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  lords  spiritual  and  temporal, 
and  commons,  in  this  present  parliament  assembled,  and  by  the 
authority  of  the  same,  as  follows : 

PRELIMINARY 

1.  This  act  may  be  cited  for  all  purposes  as  the  "Supreme 
Court  of  Judicature  Act,  1873." 

2.  This  act,  except  any  provision  thereof  which  is  declared  to 
take  effect  on  the  passing  of  this  act,  shall  commence  and  come 
into  operation  on  the  second  day  of  November,  1874. 

PART  I 

CONSTITUTION  AND  JUDGES  OF  SUPREME  COURT 

3.  From  and  after  the  time  appointed  for  the  commencement 
of  this  act,  the  several  courts  herein-after  mentioned,  (that  is 
to  say,)  the  high  court  of   chancery  of  England,  the  court  of 
queen's  bench,  the  court  of  common  pleas  at  Westminster,  the 
court  of   exchequer,  the  high  court  of  admiralty,  the  court  of 
probate,  the  court  for  divorce  and  matrimonial  causes,  and  the 
London  court  of  bankruptcy,  shall  be  united  and  consolidated 


544  English  Constitutional  Documents 

together,  and  shall  constitute,  under  and  subject  to  the  provi- 
sions of  this  act,  one  supreme  court  of  judicature  in  England. 

4.  The  said  supreme  court  shall  consist  of  two  permanent 
divisions,  one  of  which,  under  the  name  of  "Her  Majesty's  High 
Court  of  Justice,"  shall  have  and  exercise  original  jurisdiction, 
with  such  appellate  jurisdiction  from  inferior  courts  as  is  herein- 
after mentioned,   and  the  other  of  which,  under  the  name  of 
"Her  Majesty's  Court  of  Appeal,"  shall  have  and  exercise  appel- 
late jurisdiction,  with  such  original  jurisdiction  as  herein-after 
mentioned  as  may  be   incident   to  the   determination   of   any 
appeal. 

5.  Her  Majesty's  high  court  of  justice  shall  be  constituted  as 
follows:  —  The  first  judges  thereof  shall  be  the  lord  chancellor, 
the  lord  chief  justice  of  England,  the  master  of  the  rolls,  the 
lord  chief  justice  of  the  common  pleas,  the  lord  chief  baron  of 
the  exchequer,  the  several  vice-chancellors  of  the  high  court  of 
chancery,  the  judge  of  the  court  of  probate  and  of  the  court  for 
divorce  and  matrimonial  causes,  the  several  puisne  justices  of  the 
courts  of  queen's  bench  and  common  pleas  respectively,  the  sev- 
eral junior  barons  of  the  court  of  exchequer,  and  the  judge  of  the 
high  court  of  admiralty,  except  such,  if  any,  of  the  aforesaid 
judges  as  shall  be  appointed  ordinary  judges  of  the  court  of  appeal. 

Subject  to  the  provisions  herein-after  contained,  whenever  the 
office  of  a  judge  of  the  said  high  court  shall  become  vacant,  a 
new  judge  may  be  appointed  thereto  by  Her  Majesty,  by  letters 
patent.  All  persons  to  be  hereafter  appointed  to  fill  the  places 
of  the  lord  chief  justice  of  England,  the  master  of  the  rolls,  the 
lord  chief  justice  of  the  common  pleas,  and  the  lord  chief  baron, 
and  their  successors  respectively,  shall  continue  to  be  appointed 
to  the  same  respective  offices,  with  the  same  precedence,  and  by 
the  same  respective  titles,  and  in  the  same  manner,  respectively, 
as  heretofore.  Every  judge  who  shall  be  appointed  to  fill  the 
place  of  any  other  judge  of  the  said  high  court  of  justice  shall  be 
styled  in  his  appointment  "Judge  of  Her  Majesty's  High  Court 
of  Justice,"  and  shall  be  appointed  in  the  same  manner  in  which 
the  puisne  justices  and  junior  barons  of  the  superior  courts  of 
common  law  have  been  heretofore  appointed :  provided  always, 
that  if  at  the  commencement  of  this  act  the  number  of  puisne  jus- 
tices and  junior  barons  who  shall  become  judges  of  the  said  high 
court  shall  exceed  twelve  in  the  whole,  no  new  judge  of  the  said 
high  court  shall  be  appointed  in  the  place  of  any  such  puisne 
justice  or  junior  baron  who  shall  die  or  resign  while  such  whole 
number  shall  exceed  twelve,  it  being  intended  that  the  perma- 


Supreme  Court  of  Judicature  Act  545 

nent  number  of  judges  of  the  said  high  court  shall  not  exceed 
twenty-one. 

All  the  judges  of  the  said  court  shall  have  in  all  respects,  save 
as  in  this  act  is  otherwise  expressly  provided,  equal  power, 
authority,  and  jurisdiction;  and  shall  be  addressed  in  the  man- 
ner which  is  now  customary  in  addressing  the  judges  of  the 
superior  courts  of  common  law. 

The  lord  chief  justice  of  England  for  the  time  being  shall  be 
president  of  the  said  high  court  of  justice  in  the  absence  of  the 
lord  chancellor. 

6.  Her  Majesty's  court  of  appeal  shall  be  constituted  as 
follows:  —  There  shall  be  five  ex-officio  judges  thereof,  and  also 
so  many  ordinary  judges  (not  exceeding  nine  at  any  one  time) 
as  Her  Majesty  shall  from  time  to  time  appoint.  The  ex-officio 
judges  shall  be  the  lord  chancellor,  the  lord  chief  justice  of  Eng- 
land, the  master  of  the  rolls,  the  lord  chief  justice  of  the  common 
pleas,  and  the  lord  chief  baron  of  the  exchequer.  The  first  ordi- 
nary judges  of  the  said  court  shall  be  the  existing  lords  justices 
of  appeal  in  chancery,  the  existing  salaried  judges  of  the  judicial 
committee  of  Her  Majesty's  privy  council,  appointed  under  the 
"Judicial  Committee  Act,  1871, "and  such  three  other  persons 
as  Her  Majesty  may  be  pleased  to  appoint  by  letters  patent;  such 
appointment  may  be  made  either  within  one  month  before  or  at 
any  time  after  the  day  appointed  for  the  commencement  of  this 
act,  but  if  made  before  shall  take  effect  at  the  commencment  of 
this  act. 

Besides  the  said  ex-officio  judges  and  ordinary  judges,  it  shall 
be  lawful  for  Her  Majesty  (if  she  shall  think  fit),  from  time  to 
time  to  appoint  under  her  royal  sign  manual,  as  additional  judges 
of  the  court  of  appeal,  any  persons  who,  having  held  in  England 
the  office  of  a  judge  of  the  superior  courts  of  Westminster  hereby 
united  and  consolidated,  or  of  Her  Majesty's  supreme  court 
hereby  constituted,  or  in  Scotland  the  office  of  lord  justice  gen- 
eral or  lord  justice  clerk,  or  in  Ireland  the  office  of  lord  chancel- 
lor or  lord  justice  of  appeal,  or  in  India  the  office  of  chief  justice 
of  the  high  court  of  judicature  at  Fort  William  in  Bengal,  or 
Madras,  or  Bombay,  shall  respectively  signify  in  writing  their 
willingness  to  serve  as  such  additional  judges  in  the  court  of 
appeal.  No  such  additional  judge  shall  be  deemed  to  have 
undertaken  the  duty  of  sitting  in  the  court  of  appeal  when  pre- 
vented from  so  doing  by  attendance  in  the  house  of  lords,  or  on 
the  discharge  of  any  other  public  duty,  or  by  any  other  reason- 
able impediment. 


546  English  Constitutional  Documents 

The  ordinary  and  additional  judges  of  the  court  of  appeal  shall 
be  styled  lords  justices  of  appeal.  All  the  judges  of  the  said 
court  shall  have,  in  all  respects,  save  as  in  this  act  is  otherwise 
expressly  mentioned,  equal  power,  authority,  and  jurisdiction. 

Whenever  the  office  of  an  ordinary  judge  of  the  court  of  appeal 
becomes  vacant,  a  new  judge  may  be  appointed  thereto  by  Her 
Majesty  by  letters  patent. 

The  lord  chancellor  for  the  time  being  shall  be  president  of 
the  court  of  appeal. 

9.  All  judges  of  the  high  court  of  justice,  and  of  the  court  of 
appeal  respectively,  shall  hold  their  offices  for  life,  subject  to  a 
power  of  removal  by  Her  Majesty,  on  an  address  presented  to 
Her  Majesty  by  both  houses  of  parliament.  No  judge  of  either 
of  the  said  courts  shall  be  capable  of  being  elected  to  or  of  sitting 
in  the  house  of  commons.  Every  judge  of  either  of  the  said 
courts  (other  than  the  lord  chancellor)  when  he  enters  on  the  exe- 
cution of  his  office,  shall  take,  in  the  presence  of  the  lord  chan- 
cellor, the  oath  of  allegiance,  and  judicial  oath  as  defined  by  the 
Promissory  Oaths  Act,  1868.  The  oaths  to  be  taken  by  the  lord 
chancellor  shall  be  the  same  as  heretofore. 


PART  II 

JURISDICTION  AND  LAW 

1 6.  The  high  court  of  justice  shall  be  a  superior  court  of 
record,  and,  subject  as  in  this  act  mentioned,  there  shall  be 
transferred  to  and  vested  in  the  said  high  court  of  justice  the 
jurisdiction  which,  at  the  commencement  of  this  act,  was  vested 
in,  or  capable  of  being  exercised  by,  all  or  any  of  the  courts  fol- 
lowing; (that  is  to  say,) 

(1)  The  high  court  of  chancery,  as  a  common  law  court  as 

well  as  a  court  of  equity,  including  the  jurisdiction 
of  the  master  of  the  rolls,  as  a  judge  or  master  of  the 
court  of  chancery,  and  any  jurisdiction  exercised  by 
him  in  relation  to  the  court  of  chancery  as  a  common 
law  court; 

(2)  The  court  of  queen's  bench; 

(3)  The  court  of  common  pleas  at  Westminster; 

(4)  The  court  of  exchequer,  as  a  court  of  revenue,  as  well 

as  a  common  law  court; 

(5)  The  high  court  of  admiralty; 


Supreme  Court  of  Judicature  Act  547 

(6)  The  court  of  probate; 

(7)  The  court  for  divorce  and  matrimonial  causes; 

(8)  The  London  court  of  bankruptcy; 

(9)  The  court  of  common  pleas  at  Lancaster; 
(10)  The  court  of  pleas  at  Durham; 

(n)  The  courts  created  by  commissions  of  assize,  of  oyer 
and  terminer,  and  of  jail  delivery,  or  any  of  such 
commissions : 

The  jurisdiction  by  this  act  transferred  to  the  high  court  of  justice 
shall  include,  (subject  to  the  exceptions  herein-after  contained,) 
the  jurisdiction  which,  at  the  commencement  of  this  act,  was 
vested  in,  or  capable  of  being  exercised  by,  all  or  any  one  or 
more  of  the  judges  of  the  said  courts,  respectively,  sitting  in 
court  or  chambers,  or  elsewhere,  when  acting  as  judges  or  a  judge, 
in  pursuance  of  any  statute,  law,  or  custom,  and  all  powers  given 
to  any  such  court,  or  to  any  such  judges  or  judge,  by  any  statute; 
and  also  all  ministerial  powers,  duties,  and  authorities,  incident 
to  any  and  every  part  of  the  jurisdictions  so  transferred. 

17.  There  shall  not  be  transferred  to  or  vested  in  the  said  high 
court  of  justice,  by  virtue  of  this  act, — 

(1)  Any   appellate  jurisdiction  of   the  court  of  appeal  in 

chancery,  or  of  the  same  court  sitting  as  a  court  of 
appeal  in  bankruptcy : 

(2)  Any  jurisdiction  of  the  court  of  appeal  in  chancery  of 

the  county  palatine  of  Lancaster: 

(3)  Any  jurisdiction  usually  vested  in  the  lord  chancellor  or 

in  the  lords  justices  of  appeal  in  chancery,  or  either 
of  them,  in  relation  to  the  custody  of  the  persons  and 
estates  of  idiots,  lunatics,  and  persons  of  unsound 
mind: 

(4)  Any  jurisdiction  vested  in  the  lord  chancellor  in  relation 

to  grants  of  letters  patent,  or  the  issue  of  commissions 
or  other  writings,  to  be  passed  under  the  great  seal  of 
the  United  Kingdom : 

(5)  Any  jurisdiction  exercised  by  the   lord  chancellor  in 

right  of  or  on  behalf  of  Her  Majesty  as  visitor  of  any 
college,  or  of  any  charitable  or  other  foundation : 

(6)  Any  jurisdiction  of  the  master  of  the  rolls  in  relation  to 

records  in  London  or  elsewhere  in  England. 

1 8.  The  court  of  appeal  established  by  this  act  shall  be  a 
superior  court  of  record,  and  there  shall  be  transferred  to  and 
vested  in  such  court  all  jurisdictions  and  powers  of  the  courts 
following;  (that  is  to  say,) 


548  English  Constitutional  Documents 

(1)  All  jurisdictions  and  powers  of  the  lord  chancellor  and 

of  the  court  of  appeal  in  chancery,  in  the  exercise  of 
his  and  its  appellate  jurisdiction,  and  of  the  same 
court  as  a  court  of  appeal  in  bankruptcy : 

(2)  All  jurisdiction  and  powers  of  the  court  of  appeal  in 

chancery  of  the  county  palatine  of  Lancaster,  and  all 
jurisdiction  and  powers  of  the  chancellor  of  the  duchy 
and  county  palatine  of  Lancaster  when  sitting  alone 
or  apart  from  the  lords  justices  of  appeal  in  chancery 
as  a  judge  of  re-hearing  or  appeal  from  decrees  or 
orders  of  the  court  of  chancery  of  the  county  palatine 
of  Lancaster: 

(3)  All  jurisdiction  and  powers  of  the  court  of  the  lord 

warden  of  the  Stannaries  assisted  by  his  assessors,  in- 
cluding all  jurisdiction  and  powers  of  the  said  lord 
warden  when  sitting  in  his  capacity  of  judge : 

(4)  All  jurisdiction  and  powers  of  the  court  of  exchequer 

chamber : 

(5)  All  jurisdiction  vested  in  or  capable  of  being  exercised 

by  Her  Majesty  in  council,  or  the  judicial  committee 
of  Her  Majesty's  privy  council,  upon  appeal  from 
any  judgment  or  order  of  the  high  court  of  admiralty, 
or  from  any  order  in  lunacy  made  by  the  lord  chan- 
cellor, or  any  other  person  having  jurisdiction  in 
lunacy. 

19.  The  said  court  of  appeal  shall  have  jurisdiction  and  power 
to  hear  and  determine  appeals  from  any  judgment  or  order,  save 
as  herein-after  mentioned,  of  Her  Majesty's  high  court  of  justice, 
or  of  any  judges  or  judge  thereof,  subject  to  the  provisions  of 
this  act,  and  to  such  rules  and  orders  of  court  for  regulating  the 
terms  and  conditions  on  which  such  appeals  shall  be  allowed,  as 
may  be  made  pursuant  to  this  act. 

For  all  the  purposes  of  and  incidental  to  the  hearing  and  de- 
termination of  any  appeal  within  its  jurisdiction,  and  the  amend- 
ment, execution,  and  enforcement  of  any  judgment  or  order  made 
on  any  such  appeal,  and  for  the  purpose  of  every  other  authority 
expressly  given  to  the  court  of  appeal  by  this  act,  the  said  court 
of  appeal  shall  have  all  the  power,  authority,  and  jurisdiction  by 
this  act  vested  in  the  high  court  of  justice. 

20.  No  error  or  appeal  shall  be  brought  from  any  judgment  or 
order  of  the  high  court  of  justice,  or  of  the  court  of  appeal,  nor 
from  any  judgment  or  order,  subsequent  to  the  commencement 
of  this  act,  of  the  court  of  chancery  of  the  county  palatine  of 


Supreme  Court  of  Judicature  Act  549 

Lancaster,  to  the  house  of  lords  or  to  the  judicial  committee  o{ 
Her  Majesty's  privy  council;  but  nothing  in  this  act  shall  preju- 
dice any  right  existing  at  the  commencement  of  this  act  to  prose- 
cute any  pending  writ  of  error  or  appeal,  or  to  bring  error  or 
appeal  to  the  house  of  lords  or  to  Her  Majesty  in  council,  or  to 
the  judicial  committee  of  the  privy  council,  from  any  prior 
judgment  or  order  of  any  court  whose  jurisdiction  is  hereby  trans- 
ferred to  the  high  court  of  justice  or  to  the  court  of  appeal. 

21.  It  shall  be  lawful  for  Her  Majesty,  if  she  shall  think  fit,  at 
any  time  hereafter  by  order  in  council  to  direct  that  all  appeals 
and  petitions  whatsoever  to  Her  Majesty  in  council  which  accord- 
ing to  the  laws  now  in  force  ought  to  be  heard  by  or  before  the 
judicial  committee  of  Her  Majesty's  privy  council,  shall,  from 
and  after  a  time  to  be  fixed  by  such  order,  be  referred  for  hear- 
ing to  and  be  heard  by  Her  Majesty's  court  of  appeal;  and  from 
and  after  the  time  fixed  by  such  order,  all  such  appeals  and  peti- 
tions shall  be  referred  for  hearing  to  and  be  heard  by  the  said 
court  of  appeal  accordingly,  and  shall  not  be  heard  by  the  said 
judicial  committee;  and  for  all  the  purposes  of  and  incidental  to 
the  hearing  of  such  appeals  or  petitions,  and  the  reports  to  be 
made  to  Her  Majesty  thereon,  and  all  orders  thereon  to  be  after- 
wards made  by  Her  Majesty  in  council,  and  also  for  all  purposes 
of  and  incidental  to  the  enforcement  of  any  such  orders  as  may 
be  made  by  the  said  court  of  appeals  or  by  Her  Majesty,  pursu- 
ant to  this  section  (but  not  for  any  other  purpose),  all  the  power, 
authority,  and  jurisdiction  now  by  law  vested  in  the  said  judicial 
committee  shall  be  transferred  to  and  vested  in  the  said  court  of 
appeal. 

The  court  of  appeal,  when  hearing  any  appeals  in  ecclesiastical 
causes  which  may  be  referred  to  it  in  manner  aforesaid,  shall  be 
constituted  of  such  and  so  many  of  the  judges  thereof,  and  shall 
be  assisted  by  such  assessors  being  archbishops  or  bishops  of  the 
Church  of  England,  as  Her  Majesty,  by  any  general  rules  made 
with  the  advice  of  the  judges  of  the  said  court,  or  any  five  of 
them  (of  whom  the  lord  chancellor  shall  be  one),  and  of  the  arch- 
bishops and  bishops  who  are  members  of  Her  Majesty's  privy 
council,  or  any  two  of  them  (and  which  general  rules  shall  be 
made  by  order  in  council),  may  think  fit  to  direct:  provided  that 
such  rules  shall  be  laid  before  each  house  of  parliament  within 
forty  days  of  the  making  of  the  same,  if  parliament  be  then  sit- 
ting, or  if  not,  then  within  forty  days  of  the  commencement  of 
the  then  next  ensuing  session;  and  if  an  address  is  presented  to 
Her  Majesty  by  either  house  of  parliament  within  the  next  sub- 


550          English  Constitutional  Documents 

sequent  forty  days  on  which  the  said  house  shall  have  sat,  praying 
that  any  such  rule  may  be  annulled,  Her  Majesty  may  thereupon 
by  order  in  council  annul  the  same;  and  the  rules  so  annulled 
shall  thenceforth  become  void  and  of  no  effect,  but  without  preju- 
dice to  the  validity  of  any  proceeding  which  may  in  the  mean- 
time have  been  taken  under  the  same. 

22.  From  and  after  the  commencement  of  this  act  the  several 
jurisdictions  which  by  this  act  are  transferred  to  and  vested  in 
the  said  high  court  of  justice  and  the  said  court  of  appeal  re- 
spectively shall  cease  to  be  exercised,  except  by  the  said  high 
court  of  justice  and  the  said  court  of  appeal  respectively,  as  pro- 
vided by  this  act;  *  *  * 

24.  [Law  and  equity  to  be  concurrently  administered  by  both 
the  High  Court  of  Justice  and  the  Court  of  Appeal.] 


31.  For  the  more  convenient  dispatch  of  business  in  the  said 
high  court  of  justice  (but  not  so  as  to  prevent  any  judge  from  sit- 
ting whenever  required  in  any  divisional  court,  or  for  any  judge 
of  a  different  division  from  his  own),  there  shall  be  in  the  said 
high  court  five  divisions  consisting  of  such  number  of  judges 
respectively  as  herein-after  mentioned.  *  *  * 

The  said  five  divisions  shall  be  called  respectively  the  chancery 
division,  the  queen's  bench  division,  the  common  pleas  division, 
the  exchequer  division,  and  the  probate,  divorce,  and  admiralty 
division.  *  *  * 


272.    Appellate  Jurisdiction  Act 

(1876,  August  II.    39  &  40  Victoria,  c.  59.) 

BE  it  enacted  by  the  Queen's  Most  Excellent  Majesty,  by  and 
with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Lords  Spiritual  and  Tem- 
poral, and  Commons,  in  this  present  Parliament  assembled,  and 
by  the  authority  of  the  same,  as  follows  : 

1.  This  Act  may  be  cited  for  all  purposes  as  "The  Appellate 
Jurisdiction  Act,  1876." 

2.  This  Act  shall,  except  when  it  is  otherwise  expressly  provided, 
come  into  operation  on  the  first  day  of  November,  1876,  which  day 
is  hereinafter  referred  to  as  the  commencement  of  this  Act. 


Appellate  Jurisdiction  Act  551 

3.  Subject  as  in  this  Act  mentioned,  an  appeal  shall  lie  to  the 
House  of  Lords  from  any  order  or  judgment  of  any  of  the  courts 
following ;  that  is  to  say, 

(1)  of  Her  Majesty's  Court  of  Appeal  in  England ;  and 

(2)  of  any  Court  in  Scotland  from  which  error  or  an  appeal 

at  or  immediately  before  the  commencement  of  this 
Act  lay  to  the  House  of  Lords  by  common  law  or  by 
statute ;  and 

(3)  of  any  Court  in  Ireland  from  which  error  or  an  appeal 

at  or  immediately  before  the  commencement  of  this 
Act  lay  to  the  House  of  Lords  by  common  law  or  by 
statute. 

4.  Every  appeal  shall  be  brought  by  way  of  petition  to  the 
House  of  Lords,  praying  that  the  matter  of  the  order  or  judgment 
appealed  against  may  be  reviewed  before  Her  Majesty  the  Queen 
in  Her  Court  of  Parliament,  in  order  that  the  said  Court  may 
determine  what  of  right,  and  according  to  the  law  and  custom  of 
this  realm,  ought  to  be  done  in  the  subject-matter  of  such  appeal. 

5.  An  appeal  shall  not  be  heard  and  determined  by  the  House 
of  Lords  unless  there  are  present  at  such  hearing  and  determina- 
tion not  less  than  three  of  the  following  persons,   in  this  Act 
designated  Lords  of  Appeal ;  that  is  to  say, 

(1)  The  Lord  Chancellor  of  Great  Britain  for  the  time  being ; 

and 

(2)  The  Lords  of  Appeal  in  Ordinary  to  be  appointed  as  in 

this  Act  mentioned ;  and 

(3)  Such  Peers  of  Parliament  as  are  for  the  time  being  hold- 

ing or  have  held  any  of  the  offices  in  this  Act  described 
as  high  judicial  offices. 

6.  For  the  purpose  of  aiding  the  House  of  Lords  in  the  hearing 
and  determination  of  appeals,  Her  Majesty  may,  at  any  time  after 
the  passing  of  this  Act,  by  letters  patent  appoint  two  qualified 
persons  to  be  Lords  of  Appeal  in  Ordinary,  but  such  appoint- 
ment shall  not  take  effect  until  the  commencement  of  this  Act. 

A  person  shall  not  be  qualified  to  be  appointed  by  Her  Majesty 
a  Lord  of  Appeal  in  Ordinary  unless  he  has  been  at  or  before  the 
time  of  his  appointment  the  holder  for  a  period  of  not  less  than 
two  years  of  some  one  or  more  of  the  offices  in  this  Act  described 
as  high  judicial  offices,  or  has  been  at  or  before  such  time  as 
aforesaid,  for  not  less  than  fifteen  years,  a  practising  barrister  in 
England  or  Ireland,  or  a  practising  advocate  in  Scotland. 

Every  Lord  of  Appeal  in  Ordinary  shall  hold  his  office  during 
good  behaviour,  and  shall  continue  to  hold  the  same  notwith- 


552  English  Constitutional  Documents 

standing  the  demise  of  the  Crown,  but  he  may  be  removed  from 
such  office  on  the  address  of  both  Houses  of  Parliament. 

There  shall  be  paid  to  every  Lord  of  Appeal  in  Ordinary  a 
salary  of  six  thousand  pounds  a  year. 

Every  Lord  of  Appeal  in  Ordinary,  unless  he  is  otherwise 
entitled  to  sit  as  a  member  of  the  House  of  Lords,  shall  by  virtue 
and  according  to  the  date  of  his  appointment  be  entitled  during 
his  life  to  rank  as  a  Baron  by  such  style  as  Her  Majesty  may  be 
pleased  to  appoint,  and  shall  during  the  time  that  he  continues  in 
his  office  as  a  Lord  of  Appeal  in  Ordinary,  and  no  longer,  be 
entitled  to  a  writ  of  summons  to  attend,  and  to  sit  and  vote  in  the 
House  of  Lords ;  his  dignity  as  a  Lord  of  Parliament  shall  not 
descend  to  his  heirs. 

On  any  Lord  of  Appeal  in  Ordinary  vacating  his  office,  by 
death,  resignation,  or  otherwise,  Her  Majesty  may  fill  up  the 
vacancy  by  the  appointment  of  another  qualified  person. 

A  Lord  of  Appeal  in  Ordinary  shall,  if  a  Privy  Councillor,  be  a 
member  of  the  Judicial  Committee  of  the  Privy  Council,  and,  sub- 
ject to  the  due  performance  by  a  Lord  of  Appeal  in  Ordinary  of 
his  duties  as  to  the  hearing  and  determining  of  appeals  in  the 
House  of  Lords,  it  shall  be  his  duty,  being  a  Privy  Councillor,  to 
sit  and  act  as  a  member  of  the  Judicial  Committee  of  the  Privy 
Council. 


273.  Abolition  of  Names  of  King's  Bench, 
Common  Pleas,  and  Exchequer  for  Divis- 
ions of  the  High  Court  of  Justice 

(1877,  April  24.    40  Victoria,  c.  9.) 


4.  AND  whereas  it  is  expedient  that  a  uniform  style  should  be 
provided  for  the  ordinary  judges  of  the  court  of  appeal  and  for  the 
judges  of  the  high  court  of  justice  (other  than  the  presidents  of 
divisions) :  be  it  enacted,  that  the  ordinary  judges  of  the  court  of 
appeal  shall  be  styled  Lords  Justices  of  Appeal,  and  the  judges 
of  the  high  court  of  justice  (other  than  the  presidents  of  divisions) 
shall  be  styled  Justices  of  the  High  Court. 


Reform  Act  of  1884  553 

274.    Abolition  of  Certain  Judicial  Offices 

(1881,  August  27.    44  &  45  Victoria,  c.  68.) 


2.  FROM  and  after  the  passing  of  this  act  the  present  and  every 
future  Master  of  the  Rolls  shall  cease  to  be  a  judge  of  Her 
Majesty's  high  court  of  justice,  but  shall  continue  by  virtue  of  his 
office  to  be  a  judge  of  Her  Majesty's  court  of  appeal. 


25.  Where  by  any  statute  any  power  is  given  to  or  any  act  is 
required  or  authorised  to  be  done  by  the  Lord  Chief  Justice  of  the 
Common  Pleas  and  the  Lord  Chief  Baron  of  the  Exchequer,  or 
either  of  them,  either  solely  or  jointly  with  the  Lord  Chief  Justice 
of  the  Queen's  Bench  or  the  Lord  Chief  Justice  of  England,  and 
either  with  or  without  the  Lord  Chancellor  or  any  judge,  officer, 
or  person,  such  power  may  henceforth  be  exercised  and  such  act 
done  by  the  Lord  Chief  Justice  of  England ;  and  where  by  any 
statute  the  concurrence  of  the  Lord  Chief  Justice  of  the  Common 
Pleas,  and  the  Lord  Chief  Baron  of  the  Exchequer,  or  either  of 
them,  is  required  for  the  exercise  of  any  power,  or  the  perform- 
ance of  any  act,  it  shall  be  sufficient  henceforth  that  the  Lord 
Chief  Justice  of  England  shall  concur  therein. 


275.    Reform  Act  of  1884 

(1884,  December  6.    48  Victoria,  c.  3.) 

BE  it  enacted  by  the  queen's  most  excellent  Majesty,  by  and 
with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  lords  spiritual  and  tempo- 
ral, and  commons,  in  this  present  parliament  assembled,  and  by 
the  authority  of  the  same,  as  follows  : 

PRELIMINARY 

i.   This  act  my  be  cited  as  the  Representation  of  the  People 
Act,  1884. 


554          English  Constitutional  Documents 


EXTENSION  OF  THE  HOUSEHOLD  AND  LODGER  FRANCHISE 

2.  A  uniform  household  franchise  and  a  uniform  lodger  fran- 
chise at  elections  shall  be  established  in  all  counties  and  boroughs 
throughout  the  united  kingdom,  and  every  man  possessed  of  a 
household  qualification  or  a  lodger  qualification  shall,  if  the  quali- 
fying premises  be  situate  in  a  county  in  England  or  Scotland,  be 
entitled  to  be  registered  as  a  voter,  and  when  registered  to  vote  at 
an  election  for  such  county,  and  if  the  qualifying  premises  be 
situate  in  a  county  or  borough  in  Ireland,  be  entitled  to  be  reg- 
istered as  a  voter,  and  when  registered  to  vote  at  an  election  for 
such  county  or  borough. 

3.  Where  a  man  himself  inhabits  any  dwelling-house  by  virtue 
of  any  office,  service,  or  employment,  and  the  dwelling-house  is 
not  inhabited  by  any  person  under  whom  such  man  serves  in  such 
office,  service,  or  employment,  he  shall  be  deemed  for  the  pur- 
poses of  this  act  and  of  the  representation  of  the  people  acts  to 
be  an  inhabitant  occupier  of  such  dwelling-house  as  a  tenant. 


276.    Third  Redistribution  of  Parliamentary 
Seats 

(1885,  June  25.    48  &  49  Victoria,  c.  23.) 

BE  it  enacted  by  the  Queen's  Most  Excellent  Majesty,  by  and 
with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Lords  Spiritual  and  Tem- 
poral, and  Commons,   in   this   present   parliament  and  by   the 
authority  of  the  same,  as  follows : 

PRELIMINARY 

i.  This  act  may  be  cited  as  "The  Redistribution  of  Seats  Act, 
1885." 


Third  Redistribution  of  Parliamentary  Seats     555 

PART  I 

REDISTRIBUTION 
Boroughs 

2.  From  and  after  the  end  of  this  present  parliament  the  par- 
liamentary boroughs  named  in  the  first  part  of  the  First  Schedule 
[103  in  all]  shall  cease  as  boroughs  to  return  any  member. 


3.  [Boroughs  of  Macclesfield  and  Sandwich  disfranchised  for 
corruption.] 

4.  From  and  after  the  end  of  this  present  parliament  the  City 
of  London  shall  return  two  members,  and  no  more,  and  each  of 
the  parliamentary  boroughs  named  in  the  Second  Schedule  [39  in 
all]  shall  return  one  member,  and  no  more. 

5.  [Parliamentary  boroughs  named  in  Third  Schedule  [19  in 
all]  given  additional  members.] 

6.  [Towns  and  places  named  in  the  Fourth  Schedule  [33  in 
all]  made  parliamentary  boroughs.] 

7.  [Alterations  of  boundaries  of  boroughs.] 

8.  [Division  of  boroughs  for  electoral  purposes.] 

Counties 

9.  [Division  of  counties  for  electoral  purposes  into  divisions 
returning  one  member  each  —  the  counties  of  England  and  Wales 
into  244  divisions,  the  counties  of  Scotland  into  46  divisions,  and 
the  counties  of  Ireland  into  85  divisions.] 


Printed  in  the  United  States  of 


A  HISTORY  OF  GREECE 
For  High  Schools  and  Academies 

By  GEORGE  WILLIS  BOTSFORD,  PhJ>. 
Instructor  in  the  History  of  Greece  and  Rom*  i*  Harvard  U*i*xrsi+ 

8vo.        Half  Leather.        $1.10 

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as  the  basis  of  entrance  requirements  in  Grecian  history." 

— PROFESSOR  GEORGE  ELLIOT  HOWARD,  Stanford  University,  CaL 

"  Dr.  Botsford's  ideal  is  a  high  one,  and  he  has  spared  no  pains  to  realize  it. 
He  has  everywhere  given  a  foremost  place  to  the  social,  political,  literary,  and 
artistic  sides  of  Greek  civilization,  and  set  them  forth  in  adequate  detail; 
while  in  the  manifold  wars  amongst  themselves  and  with  the  common  foe  he 
has  been  careful  to  give  just  enough  to  make  the  course  of  events  clear  and 
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his  tale  in  a  straightforward  simple  style  that  must  prove  taking  to  the  mind 
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passages  of  the  ancient  Greek  authors,  poets,  historians,  and  orators  alike. 
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a  book,  too,  that  will  keep,  and  that  one  would  like  to  keep;  a  great  quality 
this  in  a  school-book." 

—WILLIAM  A.  LAMBERTON,  University  of  Pennsylvania. 

(In  the  Annals  of  the  American  Academy  of  Political 

and  Social  Science) 


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EUROPEAN   HISTORY 
An  Outline  of  its  Development 

By  GEORGE  BURTON  ADAMS 

Yale  University,  New  Haven,  Conn. 

8vo.  Half  Leather.  $1.40 

"  I  think  the  Adams  '  European  History '  is  the  best  single- volume  text-book 
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taste  for  historical  reading;  and  its  suggestive  questions,  etc.,  are  most  helpful 
to  the  teacher." 

— PROFESSOR  W.  H.  SIEBERT,  Ohio  State  University,  Columbus,  Ohio. 

THE  GROWTH  OF  THE  FRENCH  NATION 

By  GEORGE  BURTON  ADAMS 

Author  of  "  European  History"  etc. 

12mo.  Cloth.  $1.25 

"  Mr.  Adams  has  dealt  in  a  fascinating  way  with  the  chief  features  of  the 
Middle  Age,  and  his  book  is  rendered  the  more  attractive  by  some  excellent 
illustrations.  He  traces  the  history  of  France  from  the  conquests  by  the 
Romans  and  Franks  down  to  the  presidency  of  M.  Felix  Faure,  and  has  always 
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have  seized  the  salient  features  of  the  growth  of  the  French  nation,  and  to 
have  fulfilled  the  promise  of  his  title."  —  Educational  Review. 

A  STUDENT'S  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES 

By  EDWARD   CHANNING 

Professor  of  History,  Harvard  University 

With  Suggestions  to  Teachers  by  ANNA  BOYNTON  THOMPSON, 
Thayer  Academy,  South  Braintree,  Mass. 

8vo.  Half  Leather.  $1.40 

"  Your  book  has  given  us  good  satisfaction.  It  is  the  best  school  history  I 
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A  SHORT  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES 

For  School  Use 

By  EDWARD  CHANNING,  author  of  "A  Student's  History  of  the  United 
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in  the  preface  as  to  the  best  method  of  studying  the  history  of  our  country." 
— N.  G.  KlNGSLEY,  Principal  of  Doyle-Avenue  Grammar  School, 

Providence,  R.  I 

A  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND 

For  High  Schools  and  Academies 

By  KATHARINE  COMAN,  Ph.B.,  Wellesley  College,  and  ELIZABETH 
KIMBALL  KENDALL,  M.A.,  Wellesley  College.  $1.25 

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largely  introduced."  —  PROFESSOR  RICHARD  HUDSON,  University  of  Michigan, 
Ann  Arbor,  Mich. 

TOPICS  ON  GREEK  AND  ROMAN  HISTORY 

By  ARTHUR  L.  GOODRICH,  Free  Academy,  Utica,  N.Y.  Intended  for 
use  in  Secondary  Schools.  A  new  and  revised  edition.  Cloth.  I2mo. 
60  cents 

A  full  and  systematic  scheme  for  the  study  of  Greek  and  Roman  History  by 
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THE  GROWTH  OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

By  HARRY  PRATT  JUDSON,  LL.D.,  Head  Professor  of  Political  Science 
in  the  University  of  Chicago.  Cloth.  I2mo.  $1.00 

The  object  of  this  work  is  to  point  out  the  cardinal  facts  in  the  growth  of 
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AMERICAN  HISTORY  TOLD  BY  CONTEMPORARIES 

Edited  by  ALBERT   BUSHNELL  HART,  Ph.D.,  Professor  of  History  in 
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Vol.  I.  Era  of  Colonization,  1493—1689.     Ready. 

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VoL  IV.  Welding  of  the  Nation,  1845-1897.     In  preparation. 

SOURCE  BOOK  OF  AMERICAN  HISTORY 

For  Schools  and  Readers 

Edited  by  ALBERT  BUSHNELL  HART,  Ph.D.,  author  of  "American 
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esting themes  broached.     To  the  teacher  well  up  in  history,  it  will  be  found  a 
rich  mine  of  thought." —  Chicago  Inter-Ocean. 

SELECT  CHARTERS  AND  OTHER  DOCUMENTS 

Illustrative  of  American  History,  1606-1775 

Edited  by  WILLIAM  MacDONALD,  Professor  of  History  in  Bowdoin  Col- 

lege.    Cloth.     8vo.    $2.00 

"  Professor  MacDonald  shows  good  judgment  in  his  selections,  and  his  book 
should  materially  assist  the  teaching  of  American  history  ...  it  will  be  a 
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SELECT  DOCUMENTS 

Illustrative  of  the  History  of  the  United  States,  1776-1861 

Edited   by   WILLIAM    MacDONALD,  Editor  of  "  Select  Charters,"  etc. 

Cloth.     8vo.    $2.25 

"An  exceptionally  valuable  book  to  students  of  American  history,  and,  indeed, 
to  all  persons  who  care  to  discuss  our  present  problems  in  their  historical  bear- 
ings. ...  It  is  an  invaluable  book  for  every  reference  library."  —  The  Outlook, 

A  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  FOR  BEGINNERS 

For  use  in  Elementary  Schools.     By  W.  B.  POWELL,  A.M.,  Superintend- 
ent of  Public  Schools,  Washington,  D.C.     Cloth.     I2mo.     65  cents 


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A.M. 


fVOV  14  1964 


444 


A     000027593     3 


